{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T16:00:00Z","timestamp":1778601600101,"version":"3.51.4"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.156983.1","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,4]],"date-time":"2025-04-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1743724800000}}],"reference-count":58,"publisher":"F1000 Research Ltd","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,4]],"date-time":"2025-04-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1743724800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["f1000research.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["F1000Res"],"abstract":"<ns3:p>Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been successfully treated using biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. These medications are not utilized as first-line treatment, in part because of their high cost, but they are frequently seen to be cost-effective for RA patient populations that do not respond adequately to conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Moreover, not all RA patients who meet clinical eligibility criteria can access biologics, not even as second-line therapy. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in biosimilars that are highly comparable to their originator biologics in terms of efficacy and safety but generally come at a lower price. This review summarizes the potential role of biosimilars in reducing RA expenditure and increasing RA patient access to biologic therapies. As the global landscape for biosimilars continues to evolve, it is essential to consider the unique challenges and opportunities in different healthcare systems. By leveraging the potential of biosimilars, healthcare systems can improve RA management, ease its economic burden and ensure that patients have access to effective and affordable treatments. The future of RA treatment lies in the integration of biosimilars into clinical practice, offering hope for more sustainable and equitable healthcare systems.<\/ns3:p>","DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.156983.2","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,4]],"date-time":"2025-04-04T06:10:21Z","timestamp":1743747021000},"page":"1128","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Fostering healthcare system sustainability through efficient practices: Can adopting biosimilars ease the financial burden of rheumatoid arthritis?"],"prefix":"10.12688","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2749-101X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christos","family":"Ntais","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nikolaos","family":"Kontodimopoulos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5364-7412","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"John","family":"Fanourgiakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1802-5586","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael A.","family":"Talias","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"2560","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107-118","DOI":"10.1136\/ard-2022-223356","article-title":"EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis with synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: 2022 update.","volume":"82","author":"J Smolen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ann. 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By making these treatments more affordable, biosimilars can facilitate earlier and broader access to biologic therapies, which may lead to improved long-term health outcomes for patients. This expanded access is particularly crucial in optimizing disease management and minimizing the long-term effects of RA.  2.&nbsp;We have added the following Subsection (10.4): The potential for biosimilars of JAK inhibitors. In addition to bDMARDs, targeted synthetic DMARDs (tsDMARDs), such as Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, have emerged as important treatment options for RA. These therapies offer oral alternatives to biologics, providing flexibility in treatment management. The potential development of biosimilars for JAK inhibitors could further enhance access to these therapies, potentially reducing treatment costs while maintaining therapeutic efficacy. As with biosimilars in bDMARDs, the introduction of biosimilars for tsDMARDs may improve patient outcomes by enabling earlier and broader access to effective treatments, contributing to better disease control and long-term health benefits.  3.&nbsp;We appreciate the importance of presenting data in a clear and accessible format. However, we believe that adding such a table may be redundant, as all the relevant budget analysis findings are already comprehensively discussed within the main text. The current structure ensures that the financial implications of biosimilar adoption are integrated into the broader discussion, maintaining the logical flow of the manuscript.","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1128\/v2#referee-comment-13632","order":2,"name":"referee-comment-13632","label":"Referee Comment","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work","order":3,"name":"grant-information","label":"Grant Information"},{"value":"This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.","order":0,"name":"copyright-info","label":"Copyright"}]}}