A FINNISH government policy mandating substitution of biologic medicines with their biosimilar counterparts (where available) has resulted in estimated savings to the nation's PBS-equivalent of 41 million (A$71m) in 2025 when compared with 2022 before the changes were rolled out.
Under the program, doctors are required to prescribe a biosimilar in place of its reference biologic, unless therapeutically contraindicated or the patient is under 18, with pharmacists also able to initiate substitution.
Patients can decline the biosimilar at the pharmacy, but must pay the price difference between the two versions.
Within Europe, Finland has long been regarded as a leader in terms of biosimilar use, having supported substitution since 2015.
The current program began in Apr 2024 with enoxaparin preparations used to prevent and treat venous thrombosis, and rolled out in earnest on 01 Jan 2025 for biologics used to treat rheumatic diseases, psoriasis, asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases.
In the first nine months of 2025, there were savings of 27 million, projected to be 41 million when the final months are included.
This included savings of just under 600,000 through drug substitutions at the pharmacy alone, calculated as the difference between the cost of the prescribed medicine and the medicine supplied by the pharmacy.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 13 Jan 26
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