Education: The ACR will take an active role in helping the FDA educate stakeholders about biosimilars. We will work with other specialty groups, industry, pharmacy associations and other stakeholders to guide long-term, post-marketing assessments of biosimilars. We will share our experience and viewpoints to help shape new policies.
As biosimilars become part of our treatment plans, rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals should be proactive in tracking them for safety and efficacy through clinical trials or registries. I know you must have many questions about biosimilars, and your patients may be coming to you with questions of their own. Check for updates. Get involved with the ACR’s advocacy efforts, including in your own state. If you haven’t been involved in the ACR’s advocacy efforts before, now is a great time to start. Contact the ACR.
Joan M. Von Feldt, MD, MSEd, FACR, FACP, is president of the ACR and a professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also staff physician at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
Reference
- Covic A, Abraham I. State-of-the-art biosimilar erythropoietins in the management of renal anemia: Lessons learned from Europe and implications for US nephrologists. Int Urol Nephrol. 2015 Sep;47(9):1529–1539.