Biosimilars Forum Calls For Congress To Pass The Skinny Labels, Big Savings Act To Support Safe, Effective And Lower-Cost Biosimilars

• This Critical Bill Will Allow Biosimilars to Launch Earlier, Enabling Timely Access for American Patients
• Juliana M. Reed, executive director of the Biosimilars Forum, released the following statement in support of the Skinny Labels, Big Savings Act.

“The Biosimilars Forum supports the Skinny Labels, Big Savings Act. This bipartisan legislation will promote free-market competition of biosimilars and improve patient access to lower-cost, FDA-approved medications. This bill will help patients and taxpayers save money on prescription drugs because it will help biosimilar manufacturers bring biosimilars to market more quickly. In fact, 67% of biosimilars had a skinny label at the time of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

“As the 119th Congress continues its work for the American people, lawmakers have an extraordinary opportunity to address the crisis of skyrocketing drug costs by promoting access to lower-cost medicines through passing the Skinny Labels, Big Savings Act. Endless patent litigation should not be exploited to stop biosimilar manufacturers from bringing lower-cost medicines into the market. The Skinny Labels, Big Savings Act would help pharmaceutical manufacturers bring more lower-cost, FDA-approved biosimilars to market more quickly for Americans that need them.

“Now more than ever, it is clear that biosimilars—safe, effective, and lower-cost medicines that reference biologics—are key to fixing America’s healthcare affordability crisis. FDA-approved biosimilars treat a variety of chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes, arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s Disease, and eye disease. These medications are on average, more than 50% lower-cost than the originator biologics they reference. In the past eight years, the U.S. healthcare system saved $56B from biosimilars. Remarkably, biosimilars have the potential to save the U.S. health care system – including Medicare and veteran healthcare – up to $181B over the next five years.

“This bill is timely considering the looming ‘biosimilar void,’ which is a pressing, urgent situation that threatens the very viability of our industry. There are 118 reference biologics set to lose patent protection in the next decade, yet only 10% have biosimilars in development. This biosimilar void threatens to leave patients without affordable alternatives, forcing them to rely on high-cost brand-name drugs which will only worsen the healthcare affordability crisis.

“The Biosimilars Forum looks forward to continuing to work with Administration officials, the FDA and Congress to deliver lower-cost biosimilars for Americans. Time is of the essence—patients cannot wait longer.”

For more information, visit biosimilarsforum.org.