Background: Biosimilars are biological therapies that have a high similarity to the reference product in clinical potency and toxicity but may have slight variation in components that have no effect on their clinical efficacy or toxicity. The past two decades had a dramatic increase in cancer care costs due to the introduction of these new biological therapies which have changed the way we treat cancer. As the protective patency in biological therapies are reaching expiration, the race to developing similar therapies (biosimilars) has begun. Although regulatory authorities have developed regulations for the selection and approval of these biosimilars. A lot of challenges arise in selecting these agents due to their biological nature and complexity. The demonstration of comparable efficacy and safety to the originator is a challenge for both regulators and companies, necessitating careful pharmacovigilance following approval. Aims and objectives: Describe the differences between biologics and biosimilars. - Identify the potential challenges to the use of biosimilars and how to mitigate them. - Appraise the importance of Pharmacoeconomics and access to biological therapies in national oncology centre/royal hospital. - Highlight the latest data on oncology biosimilars.
Target audience: This educational presentation is directed toward oncology health care practitioners including medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, oncology pharmacists, and nurses involved or interested in treatment of cancers.