Cost pressure as with generics: “Do politicians now also want to weaken the supply of biosimilars?”

Berlin – 06.03.2023

• Today is the hearing in the G-BA on the automatic replacement of biopharmaceuticals in parenteral preparations.
• The aim is to further increase the cost pressure on biosimilars – analogous to that on generics.
• Walter Rohrer, Chairman of AG Pro Biosimilars: “What is happening here can lead to conditions similar to those on the generics market”.

(Berlin) The Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) is currently working on a regulation that will massively increase the cost pressure on biosimilars. Today the hearing on the automatic exchange of biopharmaceuticals in parenteral preparations takes place. If politicians do not intervene, the regulation will come into force as early as summer – and has the potential to weaken the supply in the long term.

“The consequences of the cost pressure are fatal,” says Walter Rohrer, Chairman of the AG Pro Biosimilars: “We are currently seeing this in the bottlenecks in generics. We experience that we sometimes cannot adequately care for children and cancer patients. The paradox is that politicians have realized that the delivery bottlenecks are the result of extreme austerity policies. It’s now loosening it up with generics and hitting it hard with biosimilars.”

And that without need. Because the amount of savings that can be achieved through biosimilars is growing from year to year. A total of 6 billion euros have already been saved thanks to biosimilars. “Anyone who wants more is limitless,” says Rohrer. “And I don’t want us to feel the consequences of this excess in biosimilars anytime soon.”

What can the automatic substitution of biopharmaceuticals mean for supply? Find out in this Film.

The AG Pro Biosimilars represents the interests of biosimilar companies in Germany. It is open to all companies that develop, manufacture and supply biosimilars. The working group under the umbrella of Pro Generika eV is committed to providing patients with needs-based access to modern biopharmaceutical drug therapies, affordable care and fair and sustainable competitive conditions.