My in laws, who study in the field of science and have taught me that a blanket statement about a product being good or bad for us should be followed up with, how did they come to this conclusion. Information about the study is very important:
- what were the parameters of the study,
- the people who were in the study,
- the environment they were in, etc.
So when Benefits Canada put on a Webinar about Biosimilars versus Biologics I wanted to attend. I haven’t even touched the service in this Blog with all the information they provided in the webinar.
The webinar talked about why some of the studies weren’t viable and really were inconclusive. Just a couple of the reasons were:
- Not enough participants since there aren’t enough people taking the Biologics.
- What role does the Placebo effect play? For example; in Sweden the people go to the hospital to receive their biologic/biosimilar drugs, so if they are part of a study and they are switched they would be none the wiser. In Canada, the drug companies set up the injection sites and if the people are switched to a Biosimilar they will physically go to another location to receive this drug.
The placebo effect happened to me recently. I was on a medication for a short while and the Doctor wanted me to half the dose. I was convinced that I wasn’t ready, but decided to try. I contacted her a couple weeks later to say the symptoms had returned and I thought I should go back up to the previous dosage. When I spoke to the pharmacist to confirm the dosage, she informed me it was never dropped, I was receiving the same amount. I went off the prescription all together and there was a small adjustment but I was fine. The placebo effect was real for me, I had convinced myself I needed this prescription and it wasn’t even for anything life threatening. I can’t imagine what the placebo effect would be on a prescription as important as a Biologic.
Most Insurance Companies are saying if you are on a Biologic they will not request you to switch. If you are new to this drug, they will request that you try the Biosimilar first. Sun Life has sent out an article that gives reassurances that switching to a Biosimilar will be reviewed case by case.
The below are a couple Blogs that I have already completed in this area:
If you would like to have a better understanding of how your Employee Benefit Provider handles Biologics versus Biosimilars, contact Glendinning Insurance Services, Your Resource Specialist.