The Charlton Centre

As newer biologic medicines can be incredibly useful in managing many conditions (e.g. immune-mediated, bone disorders, diabetes), their use can be limited by cost.

The introduction of biosimilars, however, has offered biologic medicines that are just as safe and effective as the originator, at a fraction of the cost. This results in significant cost savings for the healthcare system, insurance companies, and patients. This was the key driving factor for the non-medical biosimilar switch in Ontario, which we blogged about on February 17, 2023. At the time, some of the existing treatments that had biosimilar options included: infliximab (Remicade©), rituximab (Rituxan©), adalimumab (Humira©), and etanercept (Enbrel©). Since then, however, biosimilars have been introduced for other treatments such as ustekinumab (Stelara©), and more recently denosumab (Prolia©).

The biosimilar for denosumab, Jubbonti© is also injected subcutaneously every 6 months to manage osteoporosis just as Prolia©. For cash-paying patients, the cost savings through using this biosimilar can be significant, especially over the years.

At Charlton Health, we actively educate our patients on the use of biologic medicines and their biosimilars in managing immune-mediated and bone-related disorders like osteoporosis. Therefore, we are excited to offer this biosimilar to our patients which can improve access through cost reduction.

Kunal Bhatt, RPh, PharmD, HBSc is a staff pharmacist for Charlton Health. As a 2020 PharmD graduate from the University of Toronto, Kunal possesses a diverse range of experiences from working in hospital and community pharmacy settings. Kunal was heavily invested in contributing to the efforts against COVID-19 by administering upwards of 5000 COVID-19 vaccines at William Osler Health System’s vaccination clinics.