Datamonitor: Global biosimilars market to reach nearly $4 billion by 2015

LONDON — Any manufacturer that has the necessary resources and still is hesitating about whether to tap into biosimilars might want to go ahead and do it, if projections by British market analysis firm Datamonitor come true.

The firm released a report Monday showing that the global biosimilars market, whose value stood at $243 million in 2010, will increase to $3.7 billion by 2015.

“With the market shares of first-generation biologic drugs stagnating or declining, biosimilar monoclonal antibodies and second-generation biosimilars represent a high-value proposition for biosimilar manufacturers and key drivers for future growth,” Datamonitor healthcare analyst Mark Hollis said.

“However, despite the introduction of biosimilar approval pathways in the [United States, European Union] and Japan, the growing use of biologics and the need for more cost-effective treatments, there remain large numbers of barriers to achieving commercial success in developed markets,” Hollis added.

More than 30 biologics with sales of $51 billion will lose patent protection between this year and 2015, thus opening opportunities for biosimilar manufacturers. Currently, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Sandoz and Hospira are the largest manufacturers of biosimilars — primarily for the European Union — though such generic drug companies as Mylan and such branded drug makers as Pfizer and Merck have expressed interest as well. Datamonitor’s report forecasted that the market in the United States, Europe and Japan would remain dominated by existing biosimilar manufacturers, with a few branded companies joining in as well.