STAT

Opinion: Games and greed delay the market entry of money-saving biosimilars

Schemes to prolong monopoly profits of brand-name drugs are to blame for the slow market entry of biosimilars.

Generic medicines have saved Americans $1.67 trillion in the last decade. Biosimilars, which are more affordable, highly similar, safe, and effective versions of complex biologic medicines, are poised to do the same thing — if they aren’t thwarted by delaying tactics instituted by some pharmaceutical companies.

Some , saying it is lagging behind its European counterpart in approving biosimilar medicines. Leah Christl, the associate director for against that criticism, noting that Europe has been approving biosimilars since 2006, while the FDA began approving biosimilars only in 2015.

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