Biologic drugs are complex medications made from living cells, and are used to treat serious conditions such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. However, their high costs often make these treatments feel out of reach. Fortunately, biosimilars offer a more affordable alternative, delivering the same clinical benefits and effectiveness at a fraction of the cost — like the savings from using generic ibuprofen instead of brand-name Advil.
So, why are biosimilars not as widely accessible in the United States? In this video, Blue Shield of California's Pharmacy Transformation Leader, Matt Gibbs, PharmD, explains the benefits of biosimilars and how his team is working to make them more accessible to consumers. He also shares how Blue Shield’s Pharmacy Care Reimagined initiative is bringing transparency to prescription drug access and pricing, enabling patients to make the best decisions -— for their health and for their wallets.
Matthew Gibbs, PharmD, is a pharmacy transformation leader at Blue Shield of California, leading the company’s Pharmacy Care Reimagined strategic efforts and commercialization. With experience as the president of Capital Rx and EnvisionRx, he works on dismantling the vertically integrated pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) model. He has also provided expert testimony for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance regarding PBM transparency, and served as a leader at Anthem (now Elevance Health), Medco (now Express Scripts) and Walgreens. Follow Gibbs’ insights on LinkedIn here.