Abstract
Treatment with biological disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) has a fundamental position in the therapy of inflammatory rheumatic diseases in which previous treatment with conventional synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs has failed. The increasing need for bDMARDs and their price led to the emergence of biosimilar drugs (bsDMARDs) after the patent expiration of the original bDMARDs.
This is a relatively new class of drugs that can be defined by their similarity to the original bDMARDs. Due to the complex protein structure, bsDMARDs cannot be considered traditional generics, but highly similar copies of the proteins from which they are derived.
Unlike generic drugs, bsDMARDs must prove their biosimilarity with the original before being put into practice through clinical monitoring focused on a whole range of factors comparing the given preparations. More than ten years of data are now available both from clinical follow-ups and their extensions, as well as from national and international biologic treatment registries demonstrating the good quality, efficacy and safety of bsDMARDs on a par with bDMARDs.
The aim of the work is to provide a brief overview of bsDMARDs currently used in rheumatology practice in the Czech Republic, however, it can be expected that by the time the article is published, the list of bsDMARDs may be expanded to include other preparations.