Abstracts by keywords: Biologicals
The body's native and adaptive immune system plays an important role in a variety of diseases such as psoriasis (PSO) [1], inflammatory bowel disease (CD/CU) [2] and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [3]. These autoimmune diseases result from disruption of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses, leading to an immune-mediated attack on the host tissue [4]. Recent decades have seen an increase in the incidence and prevalence of autoimmune diseases, highlighting the importance of appropriate treatment of these diseases [5]. Biologic drugs are treatments aimed at altering the course of autoimmune diseases and represent an important alternative to conventional treatments [6]. The main targets of biological drugs are cytokines (e.g. tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], interleukin-1 [IL-1] or -6 [IL-6]), B cells and costimulation molecules (e.g. T- Cell surface protein CD28 or cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 [CTLA-4]) [7]. Biological medicines have several advantages such as: B. an established long-term effect, a high selectivity for target molecules, positive cardiovascular effects, their suitability for patients with impaired kidney or liver function and maximum adherence to intake [8].
04.04.2019
In recent years, the use of biotechnologically produced drugs has increased significantly. These active ingredients, which are usually produced through the use of bacteria or cell cultures, are used in a variety of indication areas. Biotechnologically produced active ingredients are used particularly in the treatment of serious diseases such as anemia in kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other systemic diseases as well as various cancers (Roger 2006). One way to save costs in the area of biologicals is to increase the use of so-called “biosimilars”, which can be developed by other manufacturers and brought onto the market after the patent protection of the biological has expired. As part of a model calculation, it was examined how high these expected savings could be by substituting the reference biologicals with biosimilars using the example of selected European countries between 2007 and 2020.