About 10 million people in the United States suffer from osteoporosis, a disease that weakens and breaks bones, and more than four out of five of them are women. About half of women over 50 years of age with osteoporosis break bones as a result of the disease.
A type of medicine called biologics, which are made from living cells and other organisms, may help treat or prevent osteoporosis. However, its high price may put it out of reach for some women.
Enter biosimilars, cheaper alternatives to biological products that work in the same way. By increasing access to osteoporosis treatment, biosimilars may provide a potential solution to this common health problem.
Read: Biosimilars 101 >>
Understanding Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is sometimes called the “silent disease” because people do not realize they have it until they break a bone. You can progress from osteopenia (some bone loss) to osteoporosis (more severe bone loss) without a single symptom.
Even after a bone is broken, patients and healthcare providers (HCPs) may miss osteoporosis.
“Osteoporosis has a huge undertreatment problem,” said Dr. Mary Bouxsein, a professor of orthopedics at Harvard Medical School whose research focuses on bone health. “Less than 30% of women with a hip fracture receive evaluation and treatment for osteoporosis within six months after the fracture.”
The menopausal transition is a time when the risk of osteoporosis tends to spike. This is because bone loss accelerates during this period due to the loss of protective estrogen. However, this loss can begin as early as your 30s, long before menopause actually begins.
As you enter menopause, your risk of developing osteoporosis decreases as your bone density increases. Therefore, taking steps to actively support bones early, such as exercising, consuming enough calcium, and starting treatment such as biosimilars, may help prevent osteoporosis.
Your annual visit to your OB-GYN or other health care provider is a great opportunity to learn about your bone health. This is because we can provide guidance and refer you to a specialist if necessary.
“Knowledge is power, so knowing your bone health gives you an advantage right out of the gate,” Bouxsein said. “Discussing your bone health with your doctor and getting a bone density test is the most important thing you can do.”
Effects of Osteoporosis
In addition to the short-term pain and collapse of fractures caused by osteoporosis, fractures can have a lasting impact on a person’s overall health and quality of life.
One in four people who break a hip are unable to live independently and must live in a nursing facility. And people with low bone density are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
Osteoporosis also affects mental health. In fact, one study of more than 11,000 people with osteoporosis found that they were almost twice as likely to have depression than those without osteoporosis.
Women who are also caregivers may be particularly vulnerable to health problems due to osteoporosis because they are often so focused on caring for others that they neglect their own health.
If we expand on the impact of osteoporosis, this disease places a huge burden on the economy. In the United States, osteoporosis causes 2 million bones to break each year and costs $19 billion. A 2019 report from the National Osteoporosis Foundation found that osteoporosis-related fractures cause more hospitalizations than heart attacks, strokes and breast cancer combined.
Why osteoporosis biosimilars are important
Biosimilars have the ability to enable people to purchase treatments that would otherwise be inaccessible. According to the Association for Accessible Medicines, patients and health care systems have saved nearly $36 billion since the first biosimilars were launched in 2015. And these savings have expanded treatment options for many diseases.
One study estimated that introducing biosimilars into clinical practice could save the U.S. healthcare system $54 billion by 2026.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the potential for these medicines to benefit people around the world and approves several biosimilars as safe and affordable alternatives to biologics. By breaking down financial barriers, biosimilars can help women around the world, including underserved populations, get the medicines they need.
Thanks to biosimilars, women experiencing bone loss have better access to medications that prevent the problem from getting worse, and women who already have osteoporosis have greater access to treatment.
“There are a lot of untapped markets and a lot of untreated patients,” Bouxsein said. “So I think there’s a lot of potential for affordability and improved accessibility.”
Put bone health first
It’s never too early (or too late) to start taking good care of your bones. “I think there’s a misconception that once a fracture occurs, it’s too late, and that’s not true at all,” Bouxsein said. “All of our clinical trials enrolled patients with fractures and it was still possible to prevent subsequent fractures, so it’s never too late to consider bone health treatment.”
In addition to maintaining good habits, such as moving your body regularly and eating plenty of calcium-rich foods, you can proactively protect against osteoporosis by asking your healthcare provider whether medicines, such as biosimilars, may be helpful in your bone health management plan.
If you are a caregiver, you can support your loved one’s bone health by advocating for them and providing access to regular screenings, consistent care, and affordable treatment options.
Osteoporosis should not be taken lightly, especially for women over 50, but there is no guarantee that you will develop osteoporosis. “Osteoporosis is very easy to prevent and treat,” says Dr. Bouxsein. “You can reduce your risk by prioritizing bone health before weakness becomes a problem (and using medicines such as biosimilars if it does).
This training material was created with support from Organon, a member of the HealthyWomen Corporate Advisory Board.
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