The members of the BBA ensure access to high quality, safe and effective biosimilar medicines for UK patients. As industry experts, we partner with patients' representatives, healthcare professionals, regulators and the NHS to increase understanding and to drive a sustainable environment for the development, production and continuing optimised use of biosimilar medicines across the UK.

For more information about Biosimilars, please take a look at NHS England's 'What is a Biosimilar' document.

Introduction

The British Biosimilars Association (BBA) is the expert sector group of Medicines UK exclusively focused on biosimilars.

Who we are

The membership of the British Biosimilars Association (BBA) comprises a wide group of manufacturers active in the development and production of biosimilar medicines.

The members of the BBA ensure access for UK patients to biosimilar medicines approved to the same high standards of safety, quality and efficacy as the originator or reference products. As industry experts, we partner with patients' representatives, healthcare professionals, regulators and payers to increase understanding and to drive a sustainable environment for the development, production and optimised use of biosimilar medicines across the UK.

Our approach and activities

The British Biosimilars Association is dedicated to furthering confidence in and education on the benefits of biosimilars for the NHS, patients and healthcare professionals. To this end, we set out clear policy positions on a range of topics to advance the understanding and rapid adoption of biosimilar medicines and sign-post stakeholders to a range of authoritative resources in support of this goal.

We work alongside Government, NHS England, NICE, the MHRA and professional groups and other industry colleagues including ABPI, and other key stakeholders in developing relevant educational materials.

About Biosimilars

Biological medicines including biosimilar medicines are highly complex, protein based medicines, made or derived from living organisms typically using recombinant DNA technology. Proteins are usually much bigger in size than medicines produced by chemical synthesis and have a higher complexity and variability than small chemical compounds. They can be tailor made so they bind to specific targets in the body.

Biosimilar medicines are biological medicines that have been developed to be highly similar and clinically equivalent to an existing biological medicine and are marketed after the expiry of the patent on the originator or reference biologic. Biosimilar medicines are comparable to their reference product as they have demonstrated no clinically meaningful differences in safety, efficacy, quality, structural characteristics and biological activity compared to that of the reference biologic.

Biosimilar medicines are much more expensive and take longer to develop than a traditional generic.

Typically biologics including biosimilars, are used to treat long term and complex conditions such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease and growth disorders.

As a result of their complexity, biological medicines including biosimilars are considerably more expensive to develop and manufacture than conventional medicines. This can make it difficult for the NHS to afford these medicines and can limit patients' access to them. Prescribing more cost-effective biosimilar versions enable the NHS to offer more patients the best available treatment, earlier.

Further information

To understand more about the role of biosimilars, please visit the following resources:

BBA Report – 'Supporting a competitive medicines market that widens patient access and saves the NHS money'

You can also find out about the biosimilar market in the UK and wider Europe here:
'The Impact of Biosimilar Competition in Europe 2024 - IQVIA'
'Assessing the Biosimilar Void - IQVIA'

Joining the BBA

If you would like to find out more about membership of the BBA, please email jeremy.durrant@medicinesuk.com