Medicines derived from living cells — biologics — are some of the most expensive medicines in America. What keeps prices sky-high isn’t the science — they are complex drugs — it’s the bureaucracy. Unlike in other countries, lower-cost biosimilars are blocked from the market by byzantine regulations that prevent pharmacists from substituting them like traditional generic medicines. The result has been artificially inflated drug prices, limited competition, and billions in avoidable costs for patients and insurers.
Biologic medicines naturally have a higher price than traditional medicines due to the more complicated and expensive production process of organic molecules compared to small-molecule drugs. Aspirin requires arranging only 21 atoms into the proper chemical structure; biologics may require 20,000.
However, even with these complex molecules, often part of the price comes from blocking competition. Only 2 percent of prescriptions in the United States are biologics, yet that accounts for 37 percent of drug spending.
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Justin Leventhal is a senior policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, follow us on X @ConsumerPal.