What Are Biologics and Biosimilars? How they work?

Biologics also known as biologic (agents) drugs. These treatments are called biologics because, unlike chemical medications, they are made out of materials found in life. Biologics are antibodies grown in the laboratory aimed to stop certain proteins in the body from causing harm. Over the last several years, they become a game changer for the treatment of many autoimmune diseases. They offer distinct advantage over conventional treatment because their mechanisms of action are more precisely targeted to the factors responsible for the disease. Biologics had a profound impact on many medical fields, primarily rheumatology and oncology, but also cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology, and others. In most of these disciplines, biologics have added major therapeutic options, including some diseases for which no effective therapies were available, and others where previously existing therapies were clearly inadequate.

How Biologics Work?
Before symptoms of inflammation can be seen or felt, a series of biochemical reactions takes place in the body. A biologic drug targets and prevents a specific reaction from happening, stopping the inflammatory process in its tracks.

Patients may notice a decrease in symptoms as soon as 1 week or as long as 12 weeks after starting a biologic, and symptoms may continue to improve for months afterward. It is not unusual for a biologic to become less effective over months or years, as a person’s immune system develops antibodies to the drug. When this happens, a person will notice symptoms gradually coming back. When a biologic loses its efficacy, a doctor may recommend switching to another biologic.

What is Biosimilar?
Copies of biologic agents are called “biosimilars”. A biosimilar is a biologic medical product that is almost an identical copy of an original product that is manufactured by a different company. Biosimilars are basically the generic product of a biologic (… sort of). However, because these medications are made out of living cells they will be slightly different.

How do Drugs and Biologics Differ?
Drugs are typically manufactured through chemical synthesis which means that it is made by combining specific chemical ingredients in an ordered process. Drugs generally have well-defined chemical structures. In contrast, biologics are manufactured in living sources, and are often very large, complex molecules such as proteins.