Posted by Michael Wonder on 16 Apr 2019
Bach, co-authors call for regulated pricing for biologics as an alternative to biosimilars
15 April 2019 - The 2 part proposal from Peter B. Bach and 3 co-authors published Monday argues that biosimilar competition is an economically inefficient way to achieve the goal of lower prices.
A noted critic of high drug prices describes biologics as natural monopolies, and says that, as such, efforts to induce lower prices through competition via biosimilars will fail. Instead, the prices for biologics should be regulated by the government, allowing for economic marginal costs, once patent exclusivity for the originator biologic ends.
The 2 part proposal from Peter B. Bach and 3 co-authors published Monday on the Health Affairs blog argues that biosimilar competition is an economically inefficient way to achieve the goal of lower prices, and that while the biosimilar–biologic relationship is often compared to the one that exists in the generic marketplace for small-molecule drugs, there are fundamental differences.
