Biologic medicines have revolutionized the treatment of many serious disorders. As biologic medicines are targeted specifically at disease processes, they typically offer a higher efficacy and lower toxicity than past generations of small-molecule synthetic chemical medicines. However, biologics come with a cost; for novel drug development, costs have risen over time, and biologic medicines are inherently more expensive to produce, thus restricting patient access. Furthermore, even when biologics have been available, reimbursement by national health systems has often been restricted to just a subset of the approved ‘labeled’ indications. Addressing this problem requires biologics to become more affordable and widely accessible without sacrificing their quality, safety and efficacy.
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This book has been funded through an educational grant from Biocon Biologics Limited (BBL). BBL has had no input towards the content of the book.
Editor:
Guy Regnard, PhD – Technical Consultant (Molecular and Cell Biology), University of Cape Town, and Freelance Scientist and Technical Writer, Cape Town, South Africa.
Contributors:
Paul Cornes, BM BCH MA MRCP FRCR – Consultant Oncologist, Comparative Outcomes Group, Bristol, UK.
Mansoor Ahmed Khan, BS MS BCOP – Clinical Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Care Department, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Rieke Alten, MD PhD – Head of Department of Internal Medicine II, Professor of Medicine, Director of Rheumatology Research Center, Schlosspark-Klinik Charité, University Medicine Berlin, Germany.
Stefan Stefani, MD – Oncologist and Health Economy Specialist, Head of Health Technology Assessment at UNIMED, President of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research (ISPOR) Brazil Chapter, Brazil.