Perception toward Biosimilars and Nonmedical Switching: A Cross-sectional Survey among Arab Rheumatologists

Authors

Mohammed A. Omair^{1, *,} , Humaid Al Wahshi², Jamal Al Saleh³, Farida Al Balushi², Mostafa Zayed⁴, Maha A. Omair⁵, Eduardo Mysler⁶

¹Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

²Rheumatology Unit, The Royal Hospital, Ministry of Health, Muscat, Oman

³Rheumatology Department, Dubai Hospital, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

⁴Department of Health Economics, Accsight L.L.C (Healthcare Integrated Solutions), Cairo, Egypt

⁵Department of Statistics and Operations Research, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

⁶Rheumatology Unit, Reumatólogo en Organización Médica de Investigación, Buenos Aires, Argentina

^*Corresponding author. Email: momair@ksu.edu.sa

DOI

10.2991/dsahmj.k.200727.001How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Rheumatoid arthritis; biosimilars; nonmedical switching

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the level of knowledge and acceptance for biosimilars and nonmedical switching in Arab rheumatologists.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted during the Arab League Against Rheumatism conference using a structured questionnaire consisting of 17 questions.

Results: The participants were mainly females (50.7%), practicing in the Gulf region (65.7%) with a median [Interquartile Range (IQR)] age and years of practice as consultants of 44 (13) years and 10 (14) years, respectively. The median (IQR) self-perceived knowledge of biosimilars was 5.3 (4) out of 10. Most physicians agreed that the evidence published to grant biosimilars an approval for the studied indication was enough (40.6%), yet most of them believed it was not enough for extrapolation of indications (40.6%). The mean (standard deviation) likelihood to prescribe biosimilars in the future was 5.39 (2.6). The majority of rheumatologists (59.8%) believe that nonmedical switching could pose harm to patients. Most physicians agreed that nonmedical switching will lead to a significant saving in cost (58.5%) with the majority expecting a cost reduction between 30% and 50% to justify nonmedical switching.

Conclusion: This is the first study to evaluate acceptance of biosimilars and nonmedical switching on a diverse population of rheumatologists in the Middle East. Future educational activities task forces should target these topics.

Copyright

© 2020 Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - JOUR
AU  - Mohammed A. Omair
AU  - Humaid Al Wahshi
AU  - Jamal Al Saleh
AU  - Farida Al Balushi
AU  - Mostafa Zayed
AU  - Maha A. Omair
AU  - Eduardo Mysler
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/08/07
TI  - Perception toward Biosimilars and Nonmedical Switching: A Cross-sectional Survey among Arab Rheumatologists
JO  - Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal
SP  - 179
EP  - 185
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
SN  - 2590-3349
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/dsahmj.k.200727.001
DO  - 10.2991/dsahmj.k.200727.001
ID  - Omair2020
ER  -