The following is an excerpt.
Biological drugs are made from large molecules, and the processes, involving living cells, are more complex than those used to make conventional drugs. The cheaper competitors to brand-name biological drugs are called “biosimilars” to indicate that they are not exact copies but are close enough to work the same way.
American consumers, insurers and health care providers could potentially save billions of dollars a year by using cheaper versions of brand-name biologicals that now cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year per patient. In their lobbying campaign, [Amgen and Genentech] have persuaded legislators to introduce bills that would restrict the ability of pharmacists to substitute cheaper biosimilars in filling prescriptions.
Read the full article here: Improper Efforts to Limit Competitive Drugs
