Image Credit: Rob Tek

By The Canadian Press

BIOSIMILAR DRUGS

B.C. government to require use of biosimilar drugs

May 28, 2019 | 7:23 AM

VICTORIA — British Columbia is the first province in Canada to require some patients to switch to biosimilar drugs, or medications that are nearly identical to those they’re taking but are cheaper.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says patients with conditions including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease will have six months to transition to biosimilar drugs and then PharmaCare will no longer provide coverage for their original medications.

He says the move will save more than 96 million dollars because biosimilar drugs cost anywhere from 25 to 50 per cent less than the original drugs.

Dix says use of biosimilar drugs in some European countries exceeds 90 per cent. (The Canadian Press)

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