A new report, published by the Royal College of Physicians on behalf of the IBD audit programme,into the use of biological therapies to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), has found that new biosimilar medicines, which work in the same way as the more expensive existing treatments, are safe and effective for patients and, if adopted, can halve the cost of treatment.
The audit is the first to include data on new Infliximab ‘biosimilar’ drugs Inflectra and Remsima, now being used on patients as alternatives to the original Remicade in the treatment of IBD. These drugs are designed to have active properties similar to the biological treatment already licensed.
The report finds that biological therapies, which have revolutionised the treatment of IBD, are safe and are increasingly used on patients in the UK. It recommends the adoption of Infliximab biosimilars, as the data indicates they work as well as the original therapies and are far more cost effective to provide. Their use can reduce the cost of treatment from approximately £10,000 per patient per year to less than £5,000.
The audit, which was focused only on patients starting treatment with biologics, found that a fifth of patients are currently receiving Infliximab biosimilars and, if the therapy was extended to all patients in the audit, it would equate to an annual saving to the NHS of £3 million.
