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[Biosimilar registered despite the Netherlands opposing vote: greater uncertainty about authorised drugs in the
1Erasmus MC, afd. Apotheek, Rotterdam.
Abstract:
On 1 April 2016 the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) issued a positive opinion on a new biological medicine, Flixabi®, a biosimilar to infliximab (Remicade®); however, in the appendix of the European Public Assessment Report (EPAR) it appeared that an important minority (14 of 33 votes) opposed this decision, among them the Netherlands representative. In an original article, the Dutch Medicines Board (CBG-MEB) explained the reason for this decision, but still allowed the drug on the market. This commentary states that the EPAR is a 'snapshot', without the option for an update once the level of uncertainty has been reduced and the drug is more acceptable. This confronts the prescribing physician with an uncertain situation: which drugs can be safely prescribed and which drugs may not be supported by the CBG-MEB?