European health systems could unlock substantial savings by increasing the use of biosimilar medicines, but doing so will require a coordinated mix of procurement, prescribing and dispensing policies, according to a policy brief from the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.
The potential savings are significant. Research cited in the brief estimated that Spain saved €2.3 billion between 2009 and 2019 by adopting biosimilar medicines. Three substances (infliximab, somatropin and epoetin) accounted for 60% of the savings, while in 2019 alone biosimilars generated savings equivalent to 3.92% of Spain’s total pharmaceutical expenditure.
Biosimilars are highly similar versions of biological originator medicines, like generics they are off patent and are therefore much cheaper. Europe has led in their approval. As of June 2025, the European Medicines Agency had approved 126 biosimilar medicines for use, compared to 75 approved in the United States.
Yet uptake of biosimilars varies substantially between European countries, regions and individual hospitals, suggesting…
PHOTO: AI-generated image of a biologic
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