Biologic medications or ‘Biologics’, also known as anti-TNF agents, have provided major advances to the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), due to their unparalleled efficacy. Ten thousand British Columbians use biologics for RA, PsA and AS. But their high cost is a major barrier to their use and contributes to inequalities of care.

They are the most expensive drugs in health care budgets and are responsible for $125 million spent in B.C. in 2019. As many biologics are coming to the end of their patent, pharmaceutical companies are making equivalent drugs, called biosimilars, for a lesser cost. These less expensive alternatives would provide cost savings in health care budgets, allowing the health care system to afford newly discovered biologics as they come to market.

Research in clinical trials shows the biologic and biosimilar drugs have similar effectiveness and safety profiles. We want to gain more evidence from real-life clinical care settings, over long periods of time and in large samples in British Columbia, in face of the implementation in 2019 of a health policy that mandates prescriptions to be switched to biosimilars.