Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38190008›Full record

ArticleThe European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care2024

The impact of an 'evergreening' strategy nearing patent expiration on the uptake of biosimilars and public healthcare costs: a case study on the introduction of a second administration form of trastuzumab in The Netherlands.

Ghyli Kirshner, Peter Makai, Chiara Brouns, Lonneke Timmers, Ron Kemp

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Biosimilars: A Virtuous Cycle of Sustainability and Innovation.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Introduction of Biopharmaceuticals in Europe: A Cross-Sectional Study of Early Diffusion Patterns and Data Availability.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Ghyli KirshnerNZa, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Peter MakaiErasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5332-1751
Chiara BrounsZorgverzekeraars Nederland, Zeist, The Netherlands.
Lonneke TimmersNational Healthcare Institute, Diemen, The Netherlands.
Ron KempErasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. ron.kemp@acm.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2259-7541

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In this paper, we explore dynamic market share and public healthcare costs of trastuzumab's evergreening (subcutaneous) variant during introduction of trastuzumab's competitive biosimilar variants in the Netherlands. We used a time series design to assess dynamic market share of trastuzumab's evergreening variant after introducing trastuzumab's biosimilar variants, focusing on the number of treatments and patients. The public healthcare costs of this evergreening strategy were estimated using administrative claims data. Our results show that the original trastuzumab was completely replaced by the subcutaneous and biosimilar variants. The uptake of the subcutaneous form peaked at 50% market share but after the introduction of biosimilars progressively reduced to a market share of 20%, resulting in a more competitive market structure. The public healthcare costs for trastuzumab significantly decreased after the introduction of the biosimilars. After the introduction of the biosimilars, a substantial price drop is visible, with the subcutaneous version, still under patent, also falling sharply in price but less strongly than the iv/biosimilar version. As the costs are publicly funded, we recommend a more explicit societal debate to consider if the potential benefits of subcutaneous Herceptin

Indexed as

Biosimilar PharmaceuticalsPatents as TopicTrastuzumabAntineoplastic Agents, ImmunologicalBreast NeoplasmsFemaleHealth Care CostsHumansInjections, SubcutaneousMiddle AgedNetherlandsAntineoplastic Agents, ImmunologicalBiosimilar PharmaceuticalsTrastuzumabBiosimilarCompetitionEvergreeningPricing

Identifiers

PMID38190008
PMCPMC11377641

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.