Dr. Vidal on Choosing Between Available Trastuzumab Biosimilars

Gregory Vidal, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Hematology/Oncology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and medical oncologist, West Cancer Center, discusses how the field will determine which trastuzumab (Herceptin) biosimilar to prescribe in clinical practice.

Five trastuzumab biosimilars have received regulatory approval from the FDA. Once the patent for trastuzumab expires, these agents can be used in clinical practice. Although biosimilars can be marketed at a lower cost than biologic therapy, biosimilars themselves confer no advantage over one another, says Vidal.

As such, the decision of which biosimilar to prescribe may depend on the patients’ insurance, adds Vidal. Vidal anticipates that in the future, insurance providers will work with pharmacy benefit managers to determine which biosimilar to cover.