Biosimilars approvals by thirteen regulatory authorities: A cross-national comparison

Biosimilars are biological medicines highly similar to a previously licensed reference product and their licensing is expected to improve access to biological therapies. This study aims to present an overview of biosimilars approval by thirteen regulatory authorities (RA). The study is a cross-national comparison of regulatory decisions involving biosimilars in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Colombia, Europe, Hungary, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Peru and United States. We examined publicly available documents containing information regarding the approval of biosimilars and investigated the publication of public assessment reports for registration applications, guidelines for biosimilars licensing, and products approved. Data extraction was conducted by a network of researchers and regulatory experts. All the RA had issued guidance documents establishing the requirements for the licensing of biosimilars. However, only three RA had published public assessment reports for registration applications. In total, the investigated jurisdictions had from 19 to 78 biosimilars approved, most of them licensed from 2018 to 2020. In spite of the advance in the number of products in recent years, some challenges still persist. Limited access to information regarding the assessment of biosimilars by RA can affect confidence, which may ultimately impact adoption of these products in practice.Fil: Machado, Fernanda Lacerda da Silva. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Cañás, Martín. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; ArgentinaFil: Doubova, Svetlana V.. Mexican Institute Of Social Security; MéxicoFil: Urtasun, Martín Alejandro. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; ArgentinaFil: Marin, Gustavo Horacio. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Osorio de Castro, Claudia Garcia Serpa. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Albuquerque, Flavia Caixeta. Sorocaba University; BrasilFil: Ribeiro, Tatiane Bonfim. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Pont, Lisa. University of Technology Sydney; AustraliaFil: Crisóstomo Landeros, José. Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile; ChileFil: Roldán Saelzer, Juan. Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile; ChileFil: Sepúlveda Viveros, Dino. Universidad del Desarrollo; Chile. Universidad Autónoma de Chile; ChileFil: Acosta, Angela. Universidad Icesi; ColombiaFil: Machado Beltrán, Manuel A.. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Gordillo Alas, Lily Iracema. Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance; GuatemalaFil: Orellana Tablas, Lourdes Abigail. Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance; GuatemalaFil: Benko, Ria. University of Szeged; HungríaFil: Convertino, Irma. University of Pisa; ItaliaFil: Bonaso, Marco. University of Pisa; ItaliaFil: Tuccori, Marco. University of Pisa; ItaliaFil: Kirchmayer, Ursula. Lazio Regional Health Service; ItaliaFil: Contreras Sánchez, Saúl E.. Mexican Institute of Social Security; MéxicoFil: Rodríguez Tanta, L. Yesenia. Universidad Cientifica del Sur;Fil: Gutierrez Aures, Ysabel. Ministry of Health of Peru; PerúFil: Lin, Boya. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Alipour Haris, Golnoosh. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Eworuke, Efe. Real World Solutions; Estados UnidosFil: Lopes, Luciane Cruz. Sorocaba University; Brasi

An overview of biosimilars approvals by thirteen regulatory authorities: A cross national comparison

Biosimilars are biological medicines highly similar to a previously licensed reference product and their licensing is expected to improve access to biological therapies. This study aims to present an overview of biosimilars approval by thirteen regulatory authorities (RA). The study is a cross-national comparison of regulatory decisions involving biosimilars in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Colombia, Europe, Hungary, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Peru and United States. We examined publicly available documents containing information regarding the approval of biosimilars and investigated the publication of public assessment reports for registration applications, guidelines for biosimilars licensing, and products approved. Data extraction was conducted by a network of researchers and regulatory experts. All the RA had issued guidance documents establishing the requirements for the licensing of biosimilars. However, only three RA had published public assessment reports for registration applications. In total, the investigated jurisdictions had from 19 to 78 biosimilars approved, most of them licensed from 2018 to 2020. In spite of the advance in the number of products in recent years, some challenges still persist. Limited access to information regarding the assessment of biosimilars by RA can affect confidence, which may ultimately impact adoption of these products in practice.Facultad de Ciencias Médica