3 January 2017 - Although biosimilar and generic oncology drugs have been positioned as so-called cost game-changers to the worldwide drug market, this label might be premature as it is unlikely that they will bend the cancer cost curve in the USA.

Generic drugs have the exact structure as their reference products, and assays indicate they typically have bioavailability between 80% and 125% of reference molecules. Oncology biosimilar products, which are close copies of biological medicines, were first approved in the USA in 2015 with the biosimilar filgrastim.

Read The Lancet Oncology article