Opinion: Biosimilars competition helps patients more than generic competition
Much of the current drug-pricing agenda proposed by President Biden and by Congress is based on the belief that greater government control — rather than free market competition — is the best way to lower drug prices. This view that competition is not working is particularly true for U.S. biosimilars, which enter the market after patents on a biologic drug expire.
A notion in the policy community is that competition between biologics and their biosimilars does not save patients and taxpayers as much as well-functioning generic competition for regular pharmacy-based small-molecule drugs. But we argue that the evidence shows the opposite: Biosimilar competition produces greater savings per drug than generic competition.
