Trenton, NJ – Proposed legislation that will allow greater patient access to more affordable FDA-approved biologic medicines was passed unanimously by the New Jersey Assembly Health and Human Services Committee today. The bill, A2477, also includes provisions for physician notification when a biosimilar bill is substituted for a biologic drug.
“Biological medicines are vital to the treatment of conditions such as cancer, diabetes, infectious diseases and a variety of immune disorders,” said BioNJ President and CEO Debbie Hart. Haskell Berman of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey agreed and also supported the bill.
“We would like to thank Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr., M.D., Assemblyman Daniel Benson, Assemblyman Angel Fuentes, Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz and Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin for sponsoring the bill and for their continued support in finding cures for Patients,” added Hart. “We also applaud the entire membership of the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee for their careful consideration of this bill.”
The proposed legislation allows pharmacists to substitute biosimilar products provided the conditions set forth in the bill are met. New Jersey already allows chemically-synthesized generic drugs to be substituted for brand-name prescriptions because the active ingredients in the generic version are identical to their brand-name counterparts. However, biological medicines are manufactured through biotechnology using living organisms and are much more complex than traditional, chemically-synthesized drugs. Because of their unique nature and the unique process required to develop them, it is impossible to produce an exact copy of an innovator biotech medication.
For more information: http://bionj.org/news-media/pressreleases/assembly-committee-releases-bill-a2477
“We would like to thank Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr., M.D., Assemblyman Daniel Benson, Assemblyman Angel Fuentes, Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz and Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin for sponsoring the bill and for their continued support in finding cures for Patients,” added Hart. “We also applaud the entire membership of the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee for their careful consideration of this bill.”
The proposed legislation allows pharmacists to substitute biosimilar products provided the conditions set forth in the bill are met. New Jersey already allows chemically-synthesized generic drugs to be substituted for brand-name prescriptions because the active ingredients in the generic version are identical to their brand-name counterparts. However, biological medicines are manufactured through biotechnology using living organisms and are much more complex than traditional, chemically-synthesized drugs. Because of their unique nature and the unique process required to develop them, it is impossible to produce an exact copy of an innovator biotech medication.
For more information: http://bionj.org/news-media/pressreleases/assembly-committee-releases-bill-a2477
