OneOncology Has Begun Administering Bevacizumab, Trastuzumab Biosimilars

Weeks after the first 2 anticancer biosimilars entered the US market, OneOncology announced that its partner practices have already started administering the drugs.

The 2 biosimilars, bevacizumab-awwb (Mvasi), referencing Avastin, and trastuzumab-anns (Kanjinti), referencing Herceptin, arrived on the market in July. At the time, the Amgen—Allergan partnership announced that the list price of both products would be 15% cheaper than their respective reference products.

“While biologics have made important and exciting progress treating some cancers, they have also come at a great financial cost,” Jeffrey Patton, MD, president of physician services at OneOncology, explained in a statement. “Making Mvasi and Kanjinti preferred OneOncology Agents gives our physicians immediate access to cutting-edge therapies and reinforces our commitment to leading the oncology marketplace and delivering the highest-quality and most cost-effective care to our patients.”

OneOncology, led by Tennessee Oncology, New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, and West Cancer Center, launched in September 2018 to help community oncology practices navigate the cancer care landscape and provide high-quality care to their patients.

In line with their quadruple aim of increasing access, improving quality, reducing costs, and transforming the patient experience, the partnership made the decision to make biosimilars preferred formulary agents as part of its cost effectiveness strategy.

“As we begin to incorporate biosimilar medications into our treatment pathways, we will collaborate with our physicians to navigate the fluctuating healthcare landscape and drive initiatives that ensure our clinicians appropriately utilize the right therapeutic sequence at the right time for the patient,” said Lee Schwartzberg, MD, chief medical officer of OneOncology, in a statement.

Biosimilar stakeholders and advocates for the drugs will likely welcome the news, as estimates have projected up to $60 billion in savings in 2023 for a 5-year total of $153 billion as a result of biosimilar use. Just this week, Vizient released its semiannual drug pricing forecast, in which they said biosimilars will play a key role in mitigating rising spending on drugs among its membership.

However, stakeholders have argued that abuses of the patent system that delay biosimilar competition are costing biosimilar savings. To date, there have been 7 approved biosimilars for the treatment of cancer, and just Mvasi and Kanjinti have been launched.