AMCP Partnership Forum Develops Innovative Strategies to Support Biosimilar Use and Development

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Managed care experts representing payers, pharmacists, integrated delivery systems, health economists and analysts, patient advocates, academicians, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other key decision-makers convened for AMCP's Partnership Forum, "Biosimilars: Policy, Practice, and Post-Marketing Surveillance to Support Treatment and Coverage Decisions," to identify actions that support biosimilar use and development.  

"Biologics, including biosimilars, offer an opportunity to expand patient access to high-quality, cost-effective medications and reduce health care costs. Stakeholders from all corners of managed care pharmacy participated in AMCP's Partnership Forum and delivered innovative strategies to support biosimilar development and adoption. AMCP is dedicated to continue partnering with managed care pharmacy stakeholders to implement these strategies and advocate for biologic to be accepted as safe and effective therapeutic options, as well as increase access to them," said AMCP CEO Susan Cantrell, RPh, CAE. 

To navigate the complexities of the biosimilar terrain, participants suggested these strategies:  

• Build positive, evidence-based communication and educational materials, segmented for various audiences (i.e., patients, prescribers, and payers). Amplify existing resources that help clarify complexities. 
• Draw from best practices to clarify and simplify language, particularly around interchangeability and substitutability.  
• Identify data gaps that may require development of new resources and surveillance mechanisms. Collect RWE and post-marketing surveillance data on adverse events and side effects, as well as switching data to evaluate relative effectiveness and safety.  
• Review benefit design to enhance access as more biologics come to market that will be covered under the pharmacy benefit. Investigate provider reimbursement incentives to support prescribing the most cost-effective product. 
• Combat attempts to unfairly delay competition and mitigate issues that hinder biosimilar market growth. More experience will likely help spur more evidence around, and comfortability with, biosimilars. 
• Rebuild the public's confidence in science and the FDA approval process through education and positive messaging.  
• Share learnings from across disease states, stakeholder groups, and the globe to synthesize and disseminate best practices where biosimilar uptake efforts have succeeded. 

Forum findings and recommendations will be published in AMCP's Journal of Managed Care + Specialty Pharmacy and shared during a June 2021 webinar. Forum sponsors were Agmen, AAM, Boehringer Ingelheim, Fresenius Kabi, Gilead, Johnson & Johnson, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Sandoz, and Takeda.  

About AMCP  
AMCP is the professional association leading the way to help patients get the medications they need at a cost they can afford. Visit www.amcp.org. 

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SOURCE AMCP