Posted by Michael Wonder on 31 Jul 2021
FDA approves the first interchangeable biosimilar insulin. Will it really lower the cost?
29 July 2021 - In a long-awaited move, the FDA has approved the first so-called interchangeable biosimilar version of insulin, which the agency suggested may reduce the price of a life-saving treatment that has been a poster child for the high cost of medicines.
The agency endorsed Semglee, a copy of long-acting Lantus (insulin glargine), that it first approved last year. Now, though, the copycat version has also been designated as interchangeable, a regulatory term that means Semglee can be substituted at the pharmacy for Lantus in the same way that generic drugs are substituted for equivalent brand-name medicines.
