House Ways and Means subcommittee hears experts on biosimilars, market barriers and funding cuts

WASHINGTON — Witnesses told the House Ways and Means subcommittee at a congressional hearing that biosimilar medicines can expand access and reduce costs for patients but face multiple market, regulatory and policy obstacles that are slowing adoption.

The hearing opened with the chairman noting the potential for biosimilars to “lower costs for patients and provide greater and more affordable access to care,” and a panel that included practicing physicians, a trade council executive and an academic expert described several specific impediments to wider use.

Biosimilars are highly similar versions of biologic drugs whose entry into the market has produced measurable savings, witnesses said. “Since entering the market in 02/2015, biosimilars have saved the entire health care system over $23,600,000,000,” Dr. Debra Pratt, president of the Community Oncology Alliance and a practicing oncologist in Austin, said in her testimony. Craig Burton, executive director of the Biosimilars Council, cited a separate estimate that biosimilars have yielded roughly $36 billion in system savings and expanded access by millions of patient-treatment days.

But wit…