ICHP Position Statement - Differentiating Nomenclature for Biosimilars
The Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP) supports legislation and regulation to allow for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve biosimilar medications and to determine if a biosimilar medication is interchangeable with another. Once the FDA has determined that two or more biosimilar medications are interchangeable, this information is published in the Purple Book. In this case, ICHP supports the substitution for the reference product without intervention of the prescriber.
ICHP opposes the implementation of any state laws regarding biosimilar interchangeability prior to approval by the FDA and opposes any state legislation that would require a pharmacist to notify a prescriber when a biosimilar is deemed to be interchangeable by the FDA.
At the health care system level, ICHP supports the position that a pharmacy and therapeutics/ formulary committee must approve the substitution or interchange of one biosimilar medication with another.
ICHP's goals are to improve patient safety and allow for competition, lower prices, and greater access to biological products.
Approved 12/2022