Every day, I think about the patients waiting for medicines that could change, or even save, their lives. For them, access is not a statistic. It is hope, health, and a chance for a better future.
Biologic medicines have transformed treatment for conditions like cancer and autoimmune diseases. But the complexity of developing and manufacturing them, coupled with current market and regulatory dynamics, has driven costs up and put them out of reach for far too many patients.
Biosimilars offer a more affordable alternative and have improved the lives of millions of patients worldwide since their introduction almost 20 years ago. However, biosimilar medicine development currently takes six to nine years and costs between $100 million and $300 million per candidate. At the same time, a “biosimilar void” has emerged, where many biologic medicines that have lost (or are due to lose) patent protection do not have a biosimilar medicine candidate in development.
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