Province announces plan for expanded use of biosimilar drugs

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — The Alberta government is making a switch to provide cheaper variants of pharmaceutical drugs.

How you might ask? Through the use of biosimilar drugs, which the government says will save the province millions in the coming years.

You might also be asking what exactly a biosimilar drug is. It’s a highly similar version of a biological drug that is roughly 20-50% less expensive than biologics and can be sold after the patent has expired.

The biosimilar drugs will be provided in place of traditional biological drugs for conditions that include Rheumatoid Arthritis, Diabetes, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Those who currently use the biological version of those drugs, which sits at about 26,000 people, will be forced to make the transition.

RELATED: Concerns remain as province moves forward with biosimilar drugs

Around $380-million could be saved over the next four years by making the switch, which can help adjust funding in other needed areas.

“I would like to make that point very clear to people, that this isn’t just about dollars, it’ about other people’s care,” Health Minister Tyler Shandro said.

Currently, biosimilar medication is used in B.C. as well as several European countries, in place of drugs that are becoming more costly and have expiring patents.

“One should expect no difference in its ability to do its job or cause more side effects,” Dr. John Esdaile said.

READ MORE: Health care coalition concerned about potential privatization in Alberta

Dr. Esdaile advocates for the biosimilar drugs and says a large majority of studies show there’s no loss in effectiveness when using biosimilars in place of biological drugs.

Some criticism of the change comes from those raising concerns with the availability of care, and how the switch could affect those who take infusions.

“Is there some inconvenience? Potentially, but I will say for an infusion that may occur every four to six weeks we’re going to do our very best,” Assistant Deputy Minister Graham Statt said.

The change to the biosimilar drugs will go in to effect immediately, with those who are switching to biosimilar drugs given until July 1, 2020 to make the change.

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