Longitudinal Trends in Biosimilar Uptake in France 2019-2024: Insights by Dispensing Pathway and Prescribing Origin
Author(s)
Andréa Martin, PharmD student1, Marion TANO, PharmD, PhD student2, Virginie SIORAT, PharmD1, MATTHIEU RIBAULT, Pharmacy technician1, OLIVIER PARENT DE CURZON, PharmD, PhD1, Pascal Paubel, PharmD, PhD2, ALBANE DEGRASSAT THEAS, PharmD, PhD2.
1General Agency of Equipment and Health Products (AGEPS), AP-HP, Paris, France, 2General Agency of Equipment and Health Products (AGEPS), AP-HP ; Law and Health Economics Department, Faculty of Pharmacy & HealthLaw Institute (INSERM UMR S1145) Paris Cité University, Paris, France.
1General Agency of Equipment and Health Products (AGEPS), AP-HP, Paris, France, 2General Agency of Equipment and Health Products (AGEPS), AP-HP ; Law and Health Economics Department, Faculty of Pharmacy & HealthLaw Institute (INSERM UMR S1145) Paris Cité University, Paris, France.
OBJECTIVES: Biosimilars (BS) represent a critical opportunity to optimize healthcare resource allocation while ensuring therapeutic continuity. France has implemented financial incentives and pricing strategies to support their use. Yet, uptake remains uneven across care settings. This study aims to analyze and compare BS penetration trends between 2019 and 2024 across outpatient and hospital sectors, and by prescribers’ origin (hospital-based or private practice physicians), in order to identify potential policy levers.
METHODS: This descriptive study covers all BS marketed in France from 2019 to 2024. Uptake rates (percentage of volume) were calculated as the share of BS relative to total consumption per biologic product. Hospital data were sourced from annual ATIH surveys and covered all medicines dispensed in hospitals (unit: standardized dispensing unit (UCD)), while outpatient data came from the Medic’AM database (unit: number of reimbursed boxes), supplemented by the OPEN PHMEV database for hospital-origin prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies. Analyses were based on unweighted rates, regardless of the presentation or dosage per calculation unit.
RESULTS: Based on 2023 ATIH declarative data, hospital BS uptake was 68% excluding enoxaparin; with it, 22%. Some molecules show excellent uptake, such as bevacizumab (98%) or filgrastim (100%). In retail pharmacies, when prescriptions originate from private practice, 2024 uptake remains modest (31%), though older BS like filgrastim or EPO perform well (≥83%). PHMEV show intermediate results (37%). Biosimilar uptake increased overall across all sectors, with non-linear growth observed between 2019 and 2024 in dispensed volumes. These variations reflect the influence of the prescriber's sectoral origin, prescribing conditions at initiation and renewal, the dispensation setting, and time on market in shaping biosimilar diffusion across France.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite some limitations (ATIH surveys are self-reported, with some manifest data inconsistencies, and data sources differ in scope and methodology), this study highlights sectoral nuances that can inform targeted policy interventions.
METHODS: This descriptive study covers all BS marketed in France from 2019 to 2024. Uptake rates (percentage of volume) were calculated as the share of BS relative to total consumption per biologic product. Hospital data were sourced from annual ATIH surveys and covered all medicines dispensed in hospitals (unit: standardized dispensing unit (UCD)), while outpatient data came from the Medic’AM database (unit: number of reimbursed boxes), supplemented by the OPEN PHMEV database for hospital-origin prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies. Analyses were based on unweighted rates, regardless of the presentation or dosage per calculation unit.
RESULTS: Based on 2023 ATIH declarative data, hospital BS uptake was 68% excluding enoxaparin; with it, 22%. Some molecules show excellent uptake, such as bevacizumab (98%) or filgrastim (100%). In retail pharmacies, when prescriptions originate from private practice, 2024 uptake remains modest (31%), though older BS like filgrastim or EPO perform well (≥83%). PHMEV show intermediate results (37%). Biosimilar uptake increased overall across all sectors, with non-linear growth observed between 2019 and 2024 in dispensed volumes. These variations reflect the influence of the prescriber's sectoral origin, prescribing conditions at initiation and renewal, the dispensation setting, and time on market in shaping biosimilar diffusion across France.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite some limitations (ATIH surveys are self-reported, with some manifest data inconsistencies, and data sources differ in scope and methodology), this study highlights sectoral nuances that can inform targeted policy interventions.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-11, ISPOR Europe 2025, Glasgow, Scotland
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S2
Code
HPR133
Topic
Health Policy & Regulatory, Health Service Delivery & Process of Care, Real World Data & Information Systems
Topic Subcategory
Public Spending & National Health Expenditures
Disease
Biologics & Biosimilars