DiCE is pleased to invite you to this event bringing the key questions of the importance of biosimilars for digestive cancer patients onto the European policy stage.
As per our position paper, biosimilars have been proven to be advantageous to European health systems, hospitals and ultimately the patient community, as they contribute to more sustainable and affordable healthcare systems. In relation to this, the event will:
- Bring together all different stakeholders’ perspectives (patients, Healthcare Professionals, pharmacists, health economists, policy makers) about the value of biosimilars and barriers to their acceptance
- Discuss future actions in terms of biosimilar policies at EU level in light of the pharmaceutical strategy
- Present the outcomes of the DiCE biosimilar project
- Launch a call-to-action on biosimilars. The call-to-action will concentrate on the development of positive actions to fully capitalise on opportunities offered by the wider use of biosimilars
REGISTER
About Biosimilars
More than 70 biosimilars have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) since the first biosimilar approval in 2006; currently, seven biosimilar medicines with the active substance bevacizumab, a drug used for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), have gained marked access in the European Union.
Biosimilars have been proven to be advantageous to European health systems, hospitals and ultimately the patient community, as they contribute to more sustainable and affordable healthcare systems. The use of biosimilars offers the opportunity for:
- Funding new, innovative treatments for patients, using released resources to improve patient support programs, hiring additional hospital staff – such as nurses, dietitians, psychologists – or investing in new treatment and research
- Helping reduce the waiting time to be treated allowing more patients to have access to biological treatments
Indeed, bevacizumab biosimilars can help reduce inequalities to medicine access, as they provide an excellent opportunity for more patients with mCRC to receive biological treatments in countries where access is limited. In addition to DiCE’s position paper on biosimilars, DiCE has formed a working group with experts on the topic of biosimilars from different European countries, including Spain, Belgium and Poland, to produce educational material around biosimilars for clinicians, nurses and patients with colorectal cancer and to improve the communication around biosimilars between healthcare professionals and patients.
AGENDA
Time (CET) | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 10.00 AM – 10.05 AM | Ms Tamsin Rose | Introduction |
| 10.05 AM – 10.15 AM | Mrs Barbara Moss (Patient Advocate, DiCE representative) | Biosimilars & the patient perspective |
| 10.15 AM – 10.25 AM | Prof Fernando De Mora (Professor of Pharmacology at the Spanish Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain) | Barriers towards uptake of biosimilars at national level |
| 10.25 AM – 10.35 AM | Dr Rosa Giuliani (Consultant in Medical Oncology, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre Wirral, Liverpool, Director of Public Policy, ESMO) | Good incentive practices for local hospitals |
| 10:35 AM – 10:45 AM | Mr Yannick Vandenplas (PhD researcher at the research unit for clinical pharmacology and pharmacotherapy KU Leuven, Belgium) | The importance of biosimilars in cancer -education & communication strategies for HCPs & patients |
| 10:45 AM – 10:55 AM | Prof Zoltan Kalo (Professor of Health Economics at the Centre for Health Technology Assessment of Semmelweis University and founder and leader of Syreon Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary) | General overview about biosimilars and healthcare sustainability |
| 11.00 AM – 11.10 AM | MEP Dolors Montserrat, Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA) | The view from the European Parliament |
| 11.10 AM – 11.20 AM | Permanent Representations from Poland | TBC |
| 11.20 AM – 11.50 AM | Panel – Moderator Questions from the audience and our own prepared questions | Q&A session (Tamsin Rose selecting questions from participants’ submission in the chat) |
| 11.50 AM – 11.55 AM | Ms Giulia Barenghi Policy & Public Funding Manager of DiCE | Presentation of the call to action |
| 11.55 AM – 12:00 PM | Ms Tamsin Rose | Conclusion |
Would you like more information? Please contact us.
