Fact Sheet: Biosimilar Competition

Big Pharma deploys a full suite of tactics designed to game the U.S. patent system — enabling brand name drug companies to extend monopolies over their biggest money-makers. The pharmaceutical industry’s egregious abuse of the patent system is a root cause of high prescription drug prices because it enables Big Pharma to repeatedly hike prices on existing drugs, set out-of-control launch prices on new medications, and block competition from more affordable alternatives, like generics and biosimilars.

While generics and biosimilars are both alternatives to high-priced brand name drugs, biosimilars are alternatives for more complex biologic drugs and are not exact copies of branded drugs, like generics. As more biologics enter the prescription drug market, greater biosimilar competition is especially critical to bringing down costs for patients, taxpayers and the U.S. health care system.

Learn more on how biosimilar competition reduces prescription drug costs and generates savings: