Abstracts by key term: Drug costs
Biopharmaceuticals are medicines whose active ingredients are obtained as part of a genetic engineering manufacturing process using DNA recombination methods. This manufacturing process is fundamentally different from the synthesis of the active ingredients of chemical drugs. While a chemical synthesis route can be copied identically, the production of drugs from genetically modified organisms is much more complex and results in the active ingredient remaining unique and can only be imitated by another manufacturer, but not reproduced identically. For this reason, copycat biopharmaceuticals are referred to as biosimilars and not as generics, as is the case with chemical medications. In the next few years, a number of biopharmaceuticals will lose their exclusivity, so new biosimilars are likely to complement the biosimilar market, which is currently limited to three drug groups. Even if this can result in cost savings for the payers, it is not possible to validly forecast market developments.