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. 2015 Sep 8;10(2):457-62.
doi: 10.1177/1932296815605337.

Biosimilar Insulin and Costs: What Can We Expect?

Lutz Heinemann  1
Affiliations

Biosimilar Insulin and Costs: What Can We Expect?

Lutz Heinemann. J Diabetes Sci Technol. .

Abstract

The costs for insulin treatment are high, and the steady increase in the number of patients with diabetes on insulin presents a true challenge to health care systems. Therefore, all measures to lower these costs are welcomed by patients, physicians, and health care providers. The market introduction of biosimilar insulins presents an option to lower treatment costs as biosimilars are usually offered at a lower price than the originator product. However, the assumption that a drastic reduction in insulin prices will take place, as was observed with many generic drugs, is most probably not realistic. As the first biosimilar insulin has now been approved in the EU, this commentary discusses a number of aspects that are relevant when it comes to the potential cost reduction we will see with the use of biosimilar insulins.

Keywords: biosimilar insulin; costs; diabetes therapy; economics; insulin therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: LH is member of advisory board/consultant for a number of companies that are developing novel insulin and biosimilar insulin (Biodel, Halozyme, InsuLine, Lilly, Novo, Sanofi). He is shareholder of the Profil Institut für Stoffwechselforschung, Neuss, Germany, and Profil Institute for Clinical Research, San Diego, US.

References

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