Biosimilars in dermatology: The wind of change

Abstract

Biosimilars are new drugs, highly similar copies of biological medicines, equally effective and safe but at lower prices. The aim of this brief review is to provide the current status of biosimilars approved in the European Union for dermatological use. We used PubMed for literature search up to June 2018. The keyword 'biosimilars' was searched and 1,691 items were found. From the 1,691 studies, we included 34 articles in our review. Biologics, biosimilars and generics are different types of drugs. Biosimilars are complex molecules produced by a difficult manufacturing process, and changes in product quality may affect its safety and efficacy. Now, there are 9 biosimilar medicines approved by European Medicines Agency (EMA) for plaque psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa: Amgevita, Solymbic, Cyltezo, Imraldi, Benepali, Erelzi, Flixabi, Inflectra and Remsima, and the number is increasing. In 2005, EMA issued the first guidelines for approval of biosimilars. Next-generation biologics, called 'biobetters', have the same target or mechanism of action as previously approved biologics, but they have structural changes and an improved formulation. The debate over the future of biosimilars is far from being finished. The explosive development of biological therapy and the emergence of biosimilars represent a significant success in the effort to provide advanced healthcare to patients all over the world.

Keywords: biobetters; biological therapy; biosimilars; generics; psoriasis.