15 August 2016 - What’s in a name? An awful lot when it comes to biosimilars.

A newly released survey suggests variations in how biosimilars are named may affect the willingness of pharmacists to substitute a so-called interchangeable biosimilar for a more expensive biologic. While a biosimilar is supposed to be highly similar to a biologic, interchangeability confers a higher threshold — it’s a distinct regulatory description for a biosimilar producing the very same clinical result as a biologic.

So far, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved just two biosimilars, although neither is deemed interchangeable with a brand-name biologic. There is ongoing debate, meanwhile, about the extent to which the names given to any and all biosimilars will make it harder to track side effects, or confuse doctors and pharmacists, some of whom may regard these new drugs with skepticism.

Read Stat News article