Evaluating biosimilars uptake and policy in Canada ...

• Main Author: McClean, Alison
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2023
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0421384; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0421384

BACKGROUND Despite representing less than 2% of prescriptions, biologics accounted for nearly three of every ten dollars spent on prescribed medicines in Canada in 2018. Similar to generics for small molecule drugs, biologic biosimilars are one potential way in which payers can reduce drug spending. In 2019, the government of British Columbia became the first in North America to mandate switching from reference biologics to biosimilars. While a number of other provinces have followed, the impact of these policies remains unclear. Therefore, this thesis examined the current state of biosimilars use in Canada. METHODS This dissertation focused on uptake of and spending on infliximab, etanercept, and insulin glargine using two primary data sources: (1) data from the IQVIA Canadian Drugstore and Hospital Purchases Audit representing all Canadian provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador, and (2) British Columbia health administrative data from Population Data BC. Interrupted time series analysis was used to ...