Biosimilars could be the future of the pharmaceutical industry, as the market could grow 10-fold in the next 5 years. But how do they differ from generic drugs?
During the past decade, Europe saw the emergence of a new type of drug: biosimilars. The concept of a “similar biological medicinal product” was adopted in EU pharmaceutical legislation in 2004 and came into effect in 2005. The European Commission approved the first biosimilar, Omnitrope (Somatropine) from Sandoz, in 2006. In my exchanges with more than 20 organizations, including the EMA, I had the opportunity to ask the experts: how are are these new drugs different from traditional generics? Here’s what I learned.
