Most oncologists fear that cuts in healthcare spending will affect the quality of care and half of them consider biosimilars, i.e. drugs similar to biotech originals but not the same, a resource that can guarantee savings, however only a small number know how to correctly define what they are. These are some of the contradictory data that emerged from a national survey conducted by the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (Aiom), which prompted the association to start a tour in 9 regions from next April 19, aimed at raising awareness and info! sign specialists on the use of biosimilars with seminars. The president announced that Stefano Cascinu, presenting the data at a meeting in Milan. From the responses collected from 508 oncologists, 92% declares that he uses biotech drugs, 52% believes that biosimilars can help contain costs, even if for 39% it is more useful to look for savings margins in other expenditure items. And there are doubts: only 24% of the interviewees give a correct definition, for the 62% there are critical issues related to the fact that they can function in a different way than the originator and for the 84% of the clinicians, the decision on the substitutability between biological and biosimilar must be the exclusive responsibility of the oncologist. According to Aiom, the arrival of monoclonal antibody (mAb) biosimilars in oncology in the coming years will raise questions about their efficacy and safety, issues on which attention is very much focused! ta: 65% of the interviewees believes, in fact, that mAb biosimilars are more complex than those currently available and require more accurate surveillance processes, specific registries and clinical studies with validated endpoints. According to Cascinu, in fact, «for these products, an appropriate and careful use of the instrument of notification of any adverse reactions must be foreseen and oncologists are ready to do their part» but «the problem of the lack of a law regulating the matter still remains open». To improve awareness and sensitization on these issues, the Association through tours and seminars in tents "make information with the aim of providing clinicians with the right tools to help them in daily practice". Also because this information will be transmitted to patients among whom, according to Favo, the Italian Federation of voluntary associations in oncology, the level of knowledge on biosimilars is still low!
March 14, 2013 – DoctorNews33
The business of cancer research
By Chantal Britt, swissinfo.ch
March 14, 2013 – 11:00
