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A biologic is a medicine that is made in a living system, such as yeast, bacteria, or animal cells. A biosimilar is a medicine that is very close in structure and function to a specific biologic medicine (also known as the reference product). The biosimilar has a structure that is highly similar to, but not exactly the same as, the brand name biologic. A biosimilar behaves in much the same way, so that there are "no meaningful differences" between it and the original biologic. To learn more, see What Are Biosimilar Drugs?
For some brand name biologics used in the treatment of cancer, one or more biosimilars are now approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Biosimilars for the biologic medicine bevacizumab (Avastin):
Biosimilars for the biologic medicine rituximab (Rituxan):
Biosimilars for the biologic medicine ?trastuzumab (Herceptin):
Biosimilars for the biologic medicine filgrastim (Neupogen):
?Biosimilars for the biologic medicine pegfilgrastim (Neulasta):
Biosimilar for the biologic medicine epoetin alfa (Epogen or Procrit):
Biosimilar for the biologic medicine denosumab (Xgeva):
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
US Food and Drug Administration. Biosimilar Product Information. 2024. Accessed at https://www.fda.gov/drugs/biosimilars/biosimilar-product-information on March 6, 2024.
Last Revised: August 14, 2024
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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