3 June 2019 - During the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, researchers said that, for payers with large populations, the discounted biosimilar pegfilgrastim can produce substantial cost savings that can be applied to offer increased access to supportive care.

Biosimilar pegfilgrastim, of which 2 brands (Mylan’s Fulphila and Coherus BioScience’s Udencya) have become available in the United States recently, is listed at discount of 33% to the reference product, Amgen’s Neulasta.

The research team, from biosimilar developer Sandoz, which is developing its own biosimilar pegfilgrastim, used a cost minimization model based on a hypothetical group of 20,000 patients.1 They used the average selling price, obtained from payment allowance limits in the first quarter of 2019, for prophylaxis of febrile neutropenia for one chemotherapy cycle.

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