Although estimated to be worth $10 billion by 2015, the biosimilars market will be challenging and thus is attracting only large companies and specialist providers. Development of biosimilars takes up to eight years at a cost of $100–$150 million. But prices are only expected to be 20%–30% lower than biologics. Multiple patent challenges are expected throughout the development process, and regulatory scrutiny is expected to be more intense. However, the rapid growth of biologic drug sales, biologics’ high prices and the expected patent expiration of 90% of current biotech drugs by 2020 will benefit biosimilar providers.

Source: Reuters