Résumé
Le prescripteur, jusqu’à récemment, était confronté aux génériques, des molécules simples, relativement faciles à reproduire. Mais cet article illustre que la biodisponibilité des génériques reste une préoccupation. Et maintenant interviennent les biosimilaires. En cancérologie, les biosimilaires sont pour le moment limités aux érythropoïétines et aux facteurs de croissance des globules blancs. Bientôt, ils seront rejoints par des biosimilaires d’anticorps monoclonaux avec activité antitumorale. Le prescripteur doit se demander, comme pour les génériques, si ces produits ont bien la même action que les originaux, si leur sécurité d’emploi est la même, si la qualité de la production est garantie. Et il exigera que l’on puisse savoir si le patient a bien reçu le produit prescrit, et non pas un autre. Le prescripteur va aussi s’attacher à ce que le prixmoindre des biosimilaires permette vraiment de traiter les patients selon les recommandations internationales. Cela devrait être un bénéfice pour les patients et la communauté.
Abstract
Until recently the prescriber had to deal with generics, considered to be simple molecules which are easy to copy. But as discussed in this paper, the biodisponibility of generics remains a source of uncertainty. And now arrive biosimilars, limited for the time being in the cancer setting to granulocyte-colony stimulating factors (G-CSFs) and epoetins. Soon there will be biosimilar monoclonal antibodies with anticancer activity. The prescriber will ask, as for generics, if such drugs have the same activity as originators, if their safety profile is the same, if quality of the production process is guaranteed. The prescriber will want to know if the patient is indeed receiving the prescribed product, and not another. Finally the prescriber will want to check that the lower cost of biosimilars will allow to adhere to international guidelines. This should benefit patients and the community.
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Aapro, M.S. What does a prescriber think of biosimilars?. Oncologie 13, 234–238 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10269-011-2015-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10269-011-2015-y