BIOSIMILAR INTERCHANGEABILITY
in LATAM

Biosimilars are biologic medical products that are designed to be highly similar to existing approved biologics, known as reference products, and are rigorously tested to ensure that they have no clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety, efficacy, and quality. These treatments have significantly improved patient outcomes in numerous medical specialties, including oncology, rheumatology, endocrinology, dermatology, and gastroenterology, but their high cost has put a strain on healthcare budgets, challenging the sustainability of healthcare systems worldwide. Biosimilars represent a global strategy to mitigate these financial issues by increasing treatment accessibility, fostering market competition, and reducing expenses, without compromising on the therapeutic benefits offered by their reference biologics. This is particularly relevant for regions like Latin America (LA), which faces unique healthcare challenges and disparities in resource availability.

Despite the apparent benefits, the acceptance and use of biosimilars in LA have been progressing slowly, even though countries with lower and middle incomes stand to gain significantly from a robust biosimilar market. To address this topic, the Americas Health Foundation conducted a virtual meeting with six Latin American experts in biosimilars to develop a manuscript to provide recommendations to improve access in Latin America. The resulting manuscript, “Recommendations for Interchangeability in a Growing Biosimilar Market in Latin America” is under review for publication.

Lead author: Gilberto Castañeda