AUSTRALIA needs to implement policies to drive the uptake of biosimilar medicines in 2022 and mitigate against future medicines shortages, healthcare company, Organon, believes.
The company, which announced it has joined the Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (GBMA) as a Biosimilar member today, and is also a member of Medicines Australia, the representative group for originator drug manufacturers - the only business to be part of both organisations.
"Now is a critical time for Australia to get the policy settings right so that we can realise the promise of biosimilars and all that they offer patients, healthcare professionals and the health system more broadly," Organon Access and External Affairs Director, Luke Cornish, said.
GBMA Independent Chair, Jane Halton, welcomed Organon's decision to join the organisation, which followed the passage of legislation approving its five-year strategic agreement with the Federal Government (PD 03 Dec).
Halton added that "the health and welfare of patients" was at the centre of the Association's focus on unlocking more biosimilar medicines.
"The GMBA and its members are looking forward to developing smart policies that will allow us to maintain the delivery of high value care to all patients, through the secure supply of high quality affordable medicines," she said.
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