Concerns remain as province moves forward with biosimilar drugs

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – As the province moves to expand the use of biosimilar drugs for patients in Alberta, concerns from critics remain.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced the expansion of biosimilars on Thursday. The government hopes this can save between $227 million and $380 million over the next four years.

Some say the biosimilars–sometimes described as “generics of the original biologics”–are not exactly the same and don’t always work the same as biologics, even though the drugs are authorized by Health Canada.

Organizations fighting the change say forcing patients, like those with IBD and Crohn’s disease, to switch to another drug will cause suffering for many.

RELATED: Province announces plan for expanded use of biosimilar drugs

“What we cannot understand is why the governments are hell-bent on doing this because it certainly isn’t for economic purposes. I hate to say it but I think it’s because the governments get to stand up and say, ‘Oh, we’re taking all of these steps in order to reduce the drug budget,'” said Durhane Wong-Rieger with the Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes.

“And they do it for political show as opposed to any real outcomes. And the harms to the patients? Well, they’re not going to be noticed so they’ll be able to get away with it.”

RELATED: IBD expert says he feels ‘handcuffed’ by the Kenney government

Durhane Wong-Rieger says when drug brands were pushed, they agreed to match the pricing for the cheaper biosimilars.

“In fact, in some cases, they’re providing better deals,” she said. In response to that, Shandro said companies offering money would undermine the initiative and that switching would improve competition.

On top of that, she says switching patients to cheaper medicines will create more health problems.

“It takes two or three tries sometimes, not only to get the medicine but to get the right dosing of that medicine. They only have a couple of options that are approved for them, so it would be very difficult to adjust to [something different],” she explained.

RELATED: Crohn’s and colitis patients fear drug change by UCP government

“We hear from patients all the time that it takes three, six months–a year sometimes–to get really stabilized on the drug. And if they come off the drug or them miss it or they have to switch, there’s no guarantee that even if they tried to go back that they could go back.”

Shandro said the government has met with representatives in the medical community and with those with concerns and took their advice. He says a transition period should help.

The government says studies out of Europe have indicated biosimilars are safe, nearly as effective, and would save the system hundreds of millions of dollars. But Durhane Wong-Rieger says that’s not the case.

“There was one study that was done in Norway with not really enough patients to really demonstrate that isn’t bad. What it found was that there was ‘no harm done’. But when you did the small patient population [study] you didn’t have enough evidence to make a definitive decision,” she said, adding a study in Denmark also wasn’t large or thorough enough.

Wong-Rieger said a study underway in B.C. doesn’t have an adequate follow-up procedure with patients on biosimilars so there’s no picture of what the effects of the drugs are.

“The absence of harm does not necessarily mean there is no harm.”

A leading expert in the field of inflammatory bowel disease says the Kenney government has just made Alberta the most restrictive and difficult place in the world to treat Crohn’s Disease.

Dr. Remo Panaccione says the health minister refuses to listen to the opposition and did not even have an I.B.D doctor on its panel at the announcement on Thursday.

“Two of the top-rated I.B.D specialists in the world happen to reside in Alberta,” Dr. Panaccione said. “Those individuals, because there was a difference in opinion obviously, weren’t invited to the table.”

READ MORE: No one wants the flu for Christmas; AHS asks you to spread joy not germs

Dr. Panaccione adds Alberta’s current government has set treatment in the province back 20 years with this change.

“They’ve really eliminated a lot of the innovation and choice that patients have. We’ve worked over 20 years to get to the point that we are learning how to use these drugs with the proper decisions, now not only are the drugs being restricted but the way to make those decisions are being mandated by the government.”

Panaccione also adds many patients who run out of options can no longer turn to biologics and may be forced into life-altering surgery.

Starting July 1, patients taking biologics for conditions including rheumatology, inflammatory bowel disease, and diabetes will be moved to a biosimilar prescription.

 

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today