Biosimilars of TNF-alpha inhibitors stand to erode over $9 billion in brand sales in USA and Europe by 2018

Biosimilars versions of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitors stand to erode $9.6 billion in brand sales (Amgen's Enbrel, Abbott's Humira and Centocor Ortho Biotech/Schering-Plough's Remicade) in the USA and Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK) by 2018, according to a new report from Decision Resources. This use of TNF-alpha biosimilars will save health care systems in the USA and Europe $4 billion, it claims.

"Sales associated with TNF-alpha inhibitors make these agents an attractive target for biosimilar manufacturers, while the cost of TNF-alpha inhibitor therapy makes this drug class a priority for payers looking to reduce spend," stated MaryEllen Klusacek, an analyst at Decision Resources. "We expect rheumatoid arthritis, the largest indication fueling the growth of the TNF-alpha inhibitor market, will be the first indication targeted by biosimilar developers," she noted.

The new special report, entitled Biosimilars: TNF-Alpha Inhibitors and Interferon-Alphas in Immune and Infectious Disease, also finds that gastroenterologists and rheumatologists have a conservative attitude towards biosimilar use compared with physicians in other specialties (eg, oncologists). Survey results suggest that physician discomfort with biosimilar TNF-alpha inhibitors and interferon-alphas (ie, Schering-Plough's Peg Intron and Roche's Pegasys) will not prevent them from prescribing these agents. The majority of surveyed gastroenterologists and rheumatologists will be motivated to prescribe biosimilars in response to pressure from payers looking to control costs, the report's authors believe.

"For the second year in a row, surveyed US payers rank TNF-alpha inhibitors as their top priority for reducing biologics spend. Based on this finding, we anticipate that payer pressure on physicians to prescribe biosimilar TNF-alpha inhibitors will be high," added Dr Klusacek.