IBD and Biosimilars Thought Leader Development Program

The AGA recruited leaders in IBD to develop and share a practical presentation on better managing patients with IBD and addressing physicians’ frequently asked questions about incorporating biosimilars into their treatment plans.

Biosimilars provide an opportunity to expand access to needed therapies for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and reduce health care costs, but there are significant gaps in both provider and patient knowledge about biosimilars including defining biologics, biosimilars, and biosimilarity; understanding that the safety of a biosimilar are comparable to the originator biologic; and understanding interchangeability and the related rules regarding pharmacy-level substitution.

An AGA survey also found:

• 78 percent of respondents are very concerned about biosimilar safety/immunogenicity.
• Among respondents who are unlikely to prescribe biosimilars, 69 percent report that they would be unlikely to prescribe biosimilars because they do not have experience with biosimilars.
• 65 percent of respondents who are unlikely to prescribe biosimilars say they need time to evaluate the effectiveness of biosimilars.
• 55 percent of respondents believe that pharmacy-level substitution of interchangeable biosimilars should only be allowed with prescriber notification.
• 35 percent of respondents believe that pharmacy-level substitution should never be allowed.

The AGA Institute seeks to meet this need among health care professionals in this Thought Leader Development program. Three of the Institute’s physician leaders on IBD and biosimilars – Stephen B. Hanauer, MD, Christina Ha, MD and Mark Osterman, MD – were asked to develop a training program for trusted, knowledgeable health care professionals in gastroenterology practices and health systems across the country and equip them to educate and support their colleagues in delivering high-quality care for patients with IBD.

Project Management

The execution of this initiative is supported by Knighten Health LLC, a medical education and communications company founded in 2009. The Knighten Health team are innovators in health education and communication that connect experts and organizations around common interests in health and amplify important medical insights to accelerate improvements in patient care.

Funding

This program is supported by independent medical education grants from Amgen Inc., Pfizer Inc., and Boehringer Ingelheim.