The Global Healthy Living Foundation Stands with the FDA and Its Biosimilar Education Efforts

UPPER NYACK, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Global Healthy Living Foundation, and its arthritis community, CreakyJoints, which represents millions of people with arthritis, strongly disagrees with last week’s public statement from the Patients for Biologics Safety & Access chiding the FDA for its efforts to educate providers about the critical role biosimilars play in today’s healthcare.

@GHLForg @CreakyJoints supports access to and increased uptake of biosimilars; supportive of FDA education efforts

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GHLF stands with the FDA and its Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb in promoting biosimilars as a safe, effective and potentially less expensive way to improve and sustain the quality of life for people living with otherwise debilitating chronic conditions, as well as for shorter-term cancer treatments.

“Biosimilars come to America with a strong safety, efficacy and cost-saving history in Europe and Asia. In addition, the U.S. approval pathway for biosimilars requires clinical study to ensure biosimilars meet their safety and efficacy goals,” said GHLF Executive Director Louis Tharp.

“Now is the time to bring biosimilar benefits to patients in the U.S. But, unlike Europe and Asia, America has a complicated healthcare system with many players so biosimilars have not been as quickly assimilated into our treatment protocols.”

Patients Must Benefit From Cost Savings

“In addition, savings from biosimilars, or reduced-price biologics, that go to governments in Europe and Asia to keep healthcare costs down, must be passed on to U.S. patients not insurers or their middlemen,” Tharp added.

Because of escalating premiums, deductibles and copays, patients are paying more for their healthcare. Biosimilars, and biologics that are competitively priced, offer one way to reduce these costs to patients without reducing effectiveness or safety. GHLF believes that in addition to passing on the savings to patients that the decision to switch any medication should be a decision made between the patient and physician.

“Publicly admonishing the FDA over biosimilar issues that do not affect patient safety or efficacy, and do not focus on lowering drug costs for patients:

• Delays biosimilar use
• Doesn’t acknowledge that the innovator biologics also may become cheaper as a result of market competition
• Reduces choice, creates doubt about safety and efficacy, and props up current drug costs for the millions of people the Patients for Biologics Safety & Access represent.”

Want to learn more about biosimilars?

• https://www.50statenetwork.org/all-issues/biosimilars/
• http://creakyjoints.org/?s=biosimilar

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About Global Healthy Living Foundation
The Global Healthy Living Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for people living with chronic illnesses, such as arthritis, osteoporosis, migraine, diabetes, psoriasis, and cardiovascular disease by advocating for improved access to care at the community, state, and federal levels, and amplifying education and awareness efforts within its social media framework. GHLF is also a staunch advocate for vaccines. The Global Healthy Living Foundation is the parent organization of CreakyJoints, the go-to source for millions of arthritis patients and their families world-wide who are seeking education, support, advocacy and patient-centered research through ArthritisPower, the first ever patient-led, patient-centered research registry for joint, bone, and inflammatory skin conditions. Visit www.ghlf.org for more information.