Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38481843›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in public health2024

Policy measures and instruments used in European countries to increase biosimilar uptake: a systematic review.

Sara Machado, Agostinho Cruz, Pedro Lopes Ferreira, Carminda Morais, Rui Esteves Pimenta

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing 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

12 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Horizon scan of the clinical development landscape of biosimilar products in the UK and EU.International journal of technology assessment in health care · 2026
    Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Beyond Cost: Observations on Clinical and Patient Benefits of Biosimilars in Real-World Settings.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2025
    Review
  9. Demand- Versus Supply-Side Policies in Market Penetration of Biosimilars: Which is More Effective?BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2025
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
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.

Sara MachadoESS, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Agostinho CruzLAQV-REQUIMTE, ESS, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Pedro Lopes FerreiraFaculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Carminda MoraisCentre for Health Studies and Research of the University of Coimbra/Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CEISUC/CIBB), Coimbra, Portugal.
Rui Esteves PimentaESS, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: While biosimilar medicines can contribute to the sustainability of healthcare systems, their utilization rate varies across European countries. This study aims to identify and systematize policy measures and instruments used in European countries to increase biosimilar market share. Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA 2020 recommendations. Medline-PubMed, Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases were searched using inclusion criteria that required full articles published in English between January 2006 and November 2023. Reviews, letters, reports, editorials and comments or opinion articles were excluded from this study. Results: Of the 1,137 articles, only 13 met the eligibility criteria for analysis, which covered a total of 28 European countries. Pricing regulation measures were found in 27 of these countries with tendering, price-linkage and internal reference price being the most used. Tendering was used by 27 countries to procure biosimilars in inpatient setting. Prescribing guidelines and recommendations were the widely used instrument. Some European countries adopted physician incentives, quotas, and prescription by international non-proprietary name. Conclusion: Automatic substitution was not commonly recommended or applied. Interchangeability and switching will become increasingly relevant issues. It is important that the positive results from some countries serve as an example for the future of these medicines in the European market. Systematic review registration: https://inplasy.com/, Identifier INPLASY2023120032.

Indexed as

Biosimilar PharmaceuticalsEuropeHealth PolicyHumansBiosimilar Pharmaceuticalsbiological productsbiosimilar pharmaceuticalsdrug substitutioneconomicshealth policy

Identifiers

PMID38481843
PMCPMC10932952

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.