Biosimilars for the management of rheumatoid arthritis: economic considerations

Biologic drugs have proved highly effective for the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These drugs are often considered cost-effective for well-defined RA patient populations not responding adequately to conventional treatment, but are used first-line relatively rarely, partly due to high costs. Furthermore, not all clinically eligible patients can access biologics even as second-line therapy. Recently, there has been a rise in interest in 'biosimilar' drugs that are highly comparable to the 'reference medicinal product' (RMP) in terms of efficacy and safety but may generally be lower in price. This review summarizes the cost burden of RA and considers the potential role of biosimilars in reducing drug costs and increasing patient access to biologics.