OBJECTIVES: Introduction of biosimilars on the national markets can lead to significant decrease in price and public funds expenditures and thus patients can benefit from better access to biological therapy. Prices of biosimilars differ across countries and depend on national pricing policies. In many countries drugs prices must follow the rules for international referencing of prices (IRP) or must be decreased by a certain level compared to originals.

METHODS: To estimate the differences between original and biosimilar drugs prices in EU countries we used price data of all biological drugs extracted from the Ex-Price database that provides coverage of official drugs prices across EU countries. Manufacturer price level was used for further evaluation. In countries, where this price point is not available, we used relevant margin and tax calculations. The price of the drug was calculated as the average price per one unit (e.g. milligram). Countries and active substances were finally ranked according to the difference in price of original vs biosimilar drugs.

RESULTS: Based on data extracted from the application Ex-Price we have created the ranking of EU countries and active substances according to the difference in price of original vs biosimilar drugs. The highest price differences are seen in trastuzumab, adalimumab and filgrastim and countries with the most significant biosimilar price decrease are Hungary, Latvia and Netherlands

CONCLUSIONS: We have found out that there are significant differences in price of original vs biosimilar drugs in EU countries.