The Impact of Mandatory Nonmedical Switching From Originator to Biosimilar Insulin Glargine

Purpose: This study monitors for early changes in health services utilization after a mandatory policy to switch patients from originator to biosimilar insulin glargine in British Columbia, Canada. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients treated with originator insulin glargine. The policy cohort included patients treated with originator insulin glargine in the 6 months before the policy change (May 27, 2019). Three historical control cohorts included users of originator insulin glargine during the 6 months before May 27 each year in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Patients who discontinued or switched use of the originator insulin glargine and those without cost coverage by the provincial drug plan were excluded. Using likelihood ratios, we compared the daily use of medications, outpatient visits, and hospitalizations in the 12 months after the policy change with the daily use in 3 historical control cohorts. A sustained likelihood ratio above a predefined threshold of 7.1 was interpreted as an early signal of a possible policy impact. Findings: Each cohort included 15,344 to 17,310 patients. In the first year of the policy, we observed increases in (1) insulin glargine use (the cumulative incidence increased by 2.5% compared with the mean of the 3 historical cohorts), (2) oral antidiabetic medication use (increased by 2.8%), and (3) outpatient visits (increased by 1.4%). Likelihood ratios greater than the threshold of 7.1 were detected for these 3 outcomes. (C) 2022 Elsevier Inc.

Automated summary

This study monitored early changes in health services utilization after a mandatory policy switch from originator to biosimilar insulin glargine in British Columbia, Canada. The findings in the first year of the policy showed increases in insulin glargine and oral antidiabetic medication use, as well as outpatient visits. Likelihood ratios above the threshold of 7.1 were detected for these outcomes, suggesting a possible policy impact.