Biosimilars market is not equivalent to generics market. Makers of drugs with similar actions to large-molecule biologics, such as AbbVie’s Humira, must put their drugs through clinical trials and educate physicians, making the cost of developing and selling biosimilars higher than for small-molecule generics. “Combine a robust commercial function with a costly manufacturing and clinical trial capability, and you get a product that needs to charge more than cents on the dollar,” Ben Comer writes. Thus biosimilars will not reduce drug spending as dramatically as generics have, he argues.
