Biologics are medications made from living cells. They are complicated to manufacturer and companies that make brand-name versions say cheaper generic versions aren't interchangeable with their products.
The patents of many brand-name biologics are expiring and the use of generic versions (called biosimilars) could save patients and the healthcare system significant amounts of money, the Johns Hopkins University researchers noted.
"The billion-dollar question has been whether these 'generic biologics' are the same as the brand-name versions," study leader Dr. G. Caleb Alexander, said in a university news release.
"The same debate occurred with the advent of less complicated generic drugs and now it's being hashed out all over again with much more at stake -- more room for error and more potential for cost savings to the health system," he explained.
"But based on the available evidence, we conclude that the products we studied appear comparable, and they will definitely be cheaper," Alexander said. He's an associate professor in the department of Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness in Baltimore.