Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Rheumatol. Dec 28, 2020; 10(1): 1-10
Published online Dec 28, 2020. doi: 10.5499/wjr.v10.i1.1
Greater awareness of biosimilars and shared decision-making among patients attending rheumatology practices in Colorado, United States: Real-world data
Rovshan Ismailov, Steven Simoens, Zaytuna Khasanova
Rovshan Ismailov, Zaytuna Khasanova, Complex Mechanisms of Disease, Aging and Trauma Research Foundation, Denver, CO 80246, United States
Steven Simoens, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
Author contributions: Ismailov R contributed in the conception and design of the study, acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data, statistical analysis and drafting of the initial manuscript; Simoens S contributed in the analysis and interpretation of data, and critical revision for important intellectual content; Khasanova Z contributed in the conception and design of the study, acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data, and drafting of the initial manuscript;all authors approved the final version of the article.
Institutional review board statement: This study was determined as exempt by IntegReview IRB on 15 August, 2019. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki. Prior to the beginning of the online survey, we provided an information sheet explaining the purpose of our study, how the data will be used, and stated that the data is anonymous.
Informed consent statement: Our survey had online informed consent form. No participant signed the informed consent. Rather, by clicking on the “I agree” button below, they voluntarily agree to participate in this online survey.
Conflict-of-interest statement: This study was supported by Amgen and by the CMDAT Research Foundation. Amgen was not involved in the design and conduct of the study, selection of investigators as well as data collection and management. Dr. Rovshan Ismailov, MD, MPH, PhD received funding from Amgen to conduct this study and to develop this manuscript. He has also received financial support for educational programs from Pfizer, Amgen, Abbvie, Genentech, Novartis, Santen and Actelion. Prof. Steven Simoens, PhD is one of the founders of the KU Leuven Fund on Market Analysis of Biologics and Biosimilars following Loss of Exclusivity (MABEL). He was involved in a stakeholder roundtable on biologics and biosimilars sponsored by Amgen, Pfizer and MSD; he has participated in advisory board meetings for Pfizer and Amgen; and he has contributed to studies on biologics and biosimilars for Hospira, Celltrion, Mundipharma and Pfizer. Prof. Simoens is also member of the leadership team of the ISPOR Special Interest Group on Biosimilars. Dr. Zaytuna Khasanova, MD declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No data is available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Rovshan Ismailov, MD, MPH, PhD, Research Scientist, Complex Mechanisms of Disease, Aging and Trauma Research Foundation, PO Box 460722, Denver, CO 80246, United States. dr.ismailov@cmdat.org
Received: June 12, 2020
Peer-review started: June 12, 2020
First decision: October 21, 2020
Revised: October 26, 2020
Accepted: November 4, 2020
Article in press: November 4, 2020
Published online: December 28, 2020
Processing time: 199 Days and 6.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: What is already known about this subject? Clinical research indicates that the introduction of biosimilars will not compromise either efficacy or safety for patients with rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Unfortunately, there is a lack of knowledge and awareness regarding biosimilars among these patients. Very limited research of rheumatology patients’ knowledge, and awareness of biosimilars and shared decision-making, as well as motivation to learn more about these subjects exists. What does this study add? Consistently with several other studies, many patients attending rheumatology practices in Colorado have a low level of knowledge and awareness of shared decision-making and, especially, biosimilars. Moreover, most of these patients do not engage in important discussions regarding treatment plans or options with their doctors. As our survey respondents gained knowledge about biosimilars and shared decision-making from our printing materials it seems that educational programs enriched with printed materials may impact patients’ knowledge and awareness of biosimilars as well as shared decision-making. How might this impact on clinical practice or future developments? As we have become aware of which style of learning our survey respondents prefer regarding biosimilars and shared decision-making, we believe that prospective projects will benefit not only from booklets, but also from online presentations and webinars. Based on our current study results, we recommend adding more survey questions focused on shared decision-making such as discussing treatment plans and options with doctors.