Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody used as a standard treatment for breast and metastatic gastric cancer when the cancer cells overexpress HER2, a membrane-bound receptor activated by EGF family of ligands. Due to the high cost of the therapy and no refund of the drug in many countries, there is still a large group of patients who do not have the opportunity to receive trastuzumab. A biosimilar is a medical product highly similar to another already approved biological medicine. Biosimilars are approved according to the same standards of pharmaceutical quality, safety and efficacy that apply to all biological medicines. Clinically effective biosimilars may expand patient access to trastuzumab therapy. In the coming months, European Medicines Agency (EMA) continues to increase the number of biosimilar approvals for trastuzumab, helping to promote competition that can lower therapy costs.
Keywords: biological medicine; biosimilars; breast cancer; gastric cancer; trastuzumab.
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