12 December 2019 - During this week’s annual meeting of American Society of Hematology, researchers from Canada reported that using biosimilar filgrastim could result in substantial savings.

The role of biosimilars in Canadian healthcare systems has been increasingly in the spotlight in recent months, with an advisory council recommending biosimilar use as a way to achieve universal public coverage for pharmaceuticals, but with some patient groups—and reference product sponsors—opposing provincial switching programs that seek to transition patients to biosimilar products.

It is in this milieu that, during this week’s annual meeting of American Society of Hematology, researchers from Canada reported that using biosimilar filgrastim could result in substantial savings. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Alberta, focused on the Health Canada–approved biosimilar Grastofil, made by Apotex, which was introduced in Canada in 2016.

Read Center for Biosimilars article