The Impact of Biosimilars in NHL, Breast Cancer, and Colorectal Cancer | Physician & Payer Forum | Brazil and Mexico | 2015
Physician and Payer Expectations for Changes in Treatment Algorithms
Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have become the standard of care in the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), colorectal cancer (CRC) and HER2-positive breast cancer in Brazil and Mexico. However, the patents of MabThera (Roche’s rituximab), Herceptin (Roche’s trastuzumab), Avastin (Roche’s bevacizumab), and Erbitux (Merck Serono’s cetuximab) are expiring, and biosimilars of these agents will compete with the original brands and emerging therapies in the treatment of these cancers. The public healthcare systems in Brazil and Mexico currently provide incomplete coverage for these costly biologic treatments. Biosimilars are expected to be more affordable alternatives that may enable these cost-conscious healthcare systems to provide wider coverage for targeted biologic treatment for NHL, breast cancer, and CRC.
