Sameer Awsare, MD, focuses on Kaiser Permanente’s innovative approach to biosimilars at GRx+Biosims

Presenting at this week’s GRx+Biosims meeting in North Bethesda, Maryland, Sameer Awsare, MD, associate executive director of The Permanente Medical Group, elaborated on how Kaiser Permanente leverages its integrated care model to drive collaboration in advancing the move to biosimilars.

Biosimilar drugs are identical copies of an original product made by a different company with no clinical, meaningful difference from their brand name counterparts. In discussing Kaiser Permanente’s use of biosimilars, Dr. Awsare pointed to the unique way in which the Permanente Medical Groups and pharmacies collaborate to develop evidence-based reviews of formulary drugs.

“Our drug information services are critical in doing the evidence-based review,” says Dr. Awsare. When an oncology clinician is part of the review, “it’s hard for other oncologists to go against these recommendations. This results in widespread buy-in to the formulary decisions.”

According to Dr. Awsare, biosimilars are less expensive than brand name prescriptions and just as safe and effective. During his presentation, he also explained that factors such as pay-for-delay, misinformation, and patent litigation have slowed the adoption of biosimilars.

While widespread adoption may take time, Kaiser Permanente continues to be a leader in U.S. biosimilar use and the pursuit of making prescriptions less expensive for its members.

For more of Dr. Awsare’s insights on the benefits of biosimilars, watch the below video.

To read more about the GRx+Biosims meeting, click here.