ReviewRheumatology and therapy2020
Nonmedical Switching From Originators to Biosimilars: Does the Nocebo Effect Explain Treatment Failures and Adverse Events in Rheumatology and Gastroenterology?
Review in Rheumatology and therapy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Ustekinumab Biosimilars versus Reference Ustekinumab for Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis: A Pre-switch Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2026Pooled it
- Safety outcomes when switching between biosimilars and reference biologics: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- The Economic Impact of Originator-to-Biosimilar Non-medical Switching in the Real-World Setting: A Systematic Literature Review.Advances in therapy · 2022Pooled it
- Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: Addressing Safety Concerns and Enhancing the Accessibility of Biosimilars.Current medical science · 2026Review
- Real-world switching and switch-back patterns among patients transitioning from adalimumab to biosimilars in the United States (February 2023 to August 2025).Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy · 2026Article
- Article
- Comparing Long-Term Infliximab Persistence Following a Switch to a Biosimilar in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: No Cause for Concern.Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2025Article
- Efficacy, Safety, and Immunogenicity of SDZ-ADL, an Adalimumab Biosimilar, in Biologic-Naïve and Switched Patients with Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: A Literature Review.Advances in therapy · 2025Review
- Single and multiple switches, swap and retransitioning among 28,073 biological drug users with inflammatory bowel diseases: results from the Italian VALORE network.Therapeutic advances in gastroenterology · 2025Article
- Real-World Evidence of Clinical Outcomes of the Use of the Adalimumab Biosimilar SB5 in Rheumatic and Gastrointestinal Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: 12-Month Data from the PERFUSE Study.Drugs - real world outcomes · 2024Article
- An Educational Digital Tool to Improve the Implementation of Switching to a Biosimilar (Rapid Switch Trainer): Tool Development and Validation Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Clinical Efficacy of Biosimilar Switch of Adalimumab for Management of Uveitis.Ocular immunology and inflammation · 2024Article
- Consensus-Based Overarching Principles and Recommendations on the Use of Biosimilars in the Treatment of Inflammatory Arthritis in the Gulf Region.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2024Article
- Rheumatology Patients' Experiences of a Mandatory Nationwide Transition to an Adalimumab Biosimilar.ACR open rheumatology · 2024Article
- Counting the costs: a nationwide study on healthcare use following an adalimumab biosimilar switch in >1300 inflammatory arthritis patients.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2024Article
- Patient Experience with the SensoReadyPatient preference and adherence · 2024Article
- Health Care Providers' Experiences of a Mandatory Nationwide Transition to an Adalimumab Biosimilar.ACR open rheumatology · 2023Article
- [PHARAO study: drug treatment of inflammatory rheumatic diseases : Guideline-conform treatment with biologics follows availability of biosimilars].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2023Article
- Assessment of Reported Adverse Events After Interchanging Between TNF-α Inhibitor Biosimilars in the WHO Pharmacovigilance Database.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2023Article
- Outcomes Following Adalimumab Bio-originator to Biosimilar Switch-A Comparison Using Real-world Patient- and Physician-Reported Data in European Countries.Rheumatology and therapy · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The act of nonmedical switching, defined as switching stable patients who are generally doing well with their current therapy from an originator biologic to its biosimilar, has been endorsed as a reasonable treatment strategy. The safety and efficacy of nonmedical switching have been evaluated in randomized controlled and real-world evidence studies, which have demonstrated that although many patients maintain treatment response after the switch, some patients experience therapy failure, resulting in therapy discontinuation. It has been postulated that the vast majority, if not all, of these treatment failures result from a "nocebo effect", defined as patients' negative expectations toward the therapy change. Reports suggest that the risk of a nocebo effect is higher following a mandated nonmedical switch. Although the nocebo effect is a well-recognized phenomenon in pain studies, evidence is limited in immune-mediated diseases primarily because it is difficult to quantify, especially retrospectively. In spite of this, numerous biosimilar studies in patients with immune-mediated diseases have concluded that nonmedical switching failures are due to a nocebo effect. The objective of this narrative review was to explore the reasons for nonmedical switch failure or discontinuation and the role of the nocebo effect among patients with inflammatory rheumatic and gastrointestinal diseases who switched from an originator biologic to its biosimilar.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.