[The advent of biosimilars: new rules to guarantee patient safety]

Biosimilars are medicinal products proposed as copies of biotech drugs whose patents have expired. Their entry into the therapeutic armamentarium entails knowledge of the rules established in Europe relevant to their use in clinical practice. In September 2007, an Italian panel of experts comprising two nephrologists, a clinical immunologist, an oncohematologist, a pharmacologist, and a hospital pharmacist examined the main features of biotech drugs and the issues faced by the regulatory authorities in the definition of a specific approval pathway for biosimilars in Europe. The panel of experts agreed that it is important to inform the medical and scientific community that biosimilars are not exact copies of their reference products; therefore the rules governing their clinical use are not the same as those established for biotech drugs in general. Patient safety should be the fundamental principle guiding therapeutic choices, and making these choices should be the prerogative of physicians.