Biosimilars

The psoriasis treatment paradigm includes biosimilars into the biologics category of effective and safe systemic therapies. A biosimilar is highly similar to its reference biologic and has no clinically meaningful differences in efficacy, safety, or immunogenicity to the reference product. Approval of biosimilars must meet the rigorous standards of regulatory guidance. Biomimic products, however, are not included in the category of biosimilars since they have not demonstrated bioequivalence to their reference product through a stringent approval pathway.

IPC’s 2019 biosimilars initiative focuses on educating healthcare practitioners around the globe on the similarities and differences between reference biologics, biosimilars and biomimics. Dermatologists require the most current information in this rapidly evolving field in order to better understand the benefits and risks of biosimilar products and ultimately integrate their use into practice to improve patient outcomes.

The resources provided here offer background information on biosimilars, suggest practical guidance on communicating biosimilar benefits to patients, and present real-world clinical scenarios of psoriasis management with biosimilars.