Biosimilars and the Quiet Revolution in Medicine

On a December morning, a 62-year-old goes for a walk. There’s snow on the ground and she loses her balance. She falls and fractures her wrist. This simple fracture reveals underlying osteoporosis, requiring lifelong (and expensive) medication. But as you’ll learn from Dr. Richard Eastell, an endocrinologist and professor of Bone Metabolism at the University of Sheffield, this is where biosimilars come in. Biosimilars are extremely similar — hence the name — to the original biological drug they’re designed to imitate. The excitement around biosimilars is that they’re cheaper, making them more accessible to more people, meaning fewer fractures … better health … a better economy … and ultimately, a better quality of life.