Last year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first ever biosimilar drug for use in the U.S. and is expected to approve another this year. A biosimilar of a biologic drug is often likened to a generic version of a brand name chemical drug. The main differences are that biologics are much larger, more complex, and they cost a lot more money to develop and produce than small molecule chemical drugs (approximately $100-250 million vs. $2-3 million respectively). A biosimilar is an inexact replica of a biologic drug. Since biologics are produced by unique cell lines and are composed of thousands of atoms, exact replicas from other companies (like generics) are nearly impossible. So a biosimilar drug is one that has similar chemical, therapeutic, and side effect profiles as its reference biologic, but it is not exact, allotting it the potential to interact differently in patients.
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