Although 41 states currently have passed legislation to enable plans to substitute interchangeable biosimilars, these state biosimilar laws seem an attempt to put the cart in front of the horse. Reginia Benjamin, JD, Director of Legislative Affairs, at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, explained that the first state legislation to optimize the use of biosimilars was signed in 2013, before any were approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Ms. Benjamin’s presentation last week at the annual meeting of the AMCP in Boston highlighted the fact that by the time Zarxio®, the first biosimilar was approved, 10 states had similar laws on the books.
The individual state biosimilar laws do vary quite a bit. Some of them specified that notification must be given to the provider (via phone, fax, or notation in the EMR) that a reference product is being substituted. She added that these requirements are generally above and beyond what is mandated for the dispensing of other medications.
At the time the majority of these laws were enacted, the FDA had not yet defined the criteria for an interchangeable biosimilar.
As a result, the medications’ definition of interchangeability varies in some states’ legislation. For example, they may rely on the way the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) framed interchangeability, which is less specific than the FDA’s current guidelines.
To complicate matters, said Ms. Benjamin, states may also refer to a level of therapeutic equivalence as defined by the FDA’s Orange Book. However, the Orange Book does not address biologics, only small molecules. The Purple Book would be the appropriate reference, but this was only introduced in 2014.
Additional state legislative language, which is not uniform, includes the following:
- Patients must be notified before receiving the biosimilar medicine (and varying timeframes for such notification)
- Receipt of patient approval of the interchanged biosimilar before dispensing
- Requirements to state boards of pharmacy produce a website with information on FDA-approved interchangeable biosimilars
- Limits on liability for pharmacists who substitute a biosimilar for a reference product (ie, no greater liability exists than for filling any other prescription)
Ms. Benjamin stated that “state laws are inconsistent with the intent of the BPCIA,” for instance, pharmacists do not have independent authority to substitute a biosimilar agent for the originator product without the approval of the health provider. They fail to recognize the Purple Book as the FDA’s reference source for information about the interchangeability of biosimilars.
She concluded that education is key in providing stakeholders to better inform them of the potential for these drugs, “to provide increased access to safe and more cost-effective drugs.”
