00:00 Have you ever heard of the concept of interchangeability in the medical field?
00:07 We went to the European Medicines Agency to understand what it is and what it means for
00:12 EU patients and health systems.
00:16 The EMA's Chief Medical Officer, Stefan Thurstrep, gave us some insights.
00:21 It's a difficult word and interchangeability means that you can substitute or switch one
00:27 product with another.
00:29 And when we talk about interchangeability of biosimilars, we are talking about patients
00:33 who are already being treated with the reference product, that they can be switched to a biosimilar
00:40 version of that reference product, or that they even could be switched between different
00:46 biosimilars with the same reference product.
00:50 And ultimately also be started therapy on a biosimilar instead, so you don't have to
00:54 go via the originated product.
00:56 The big advantage is saving of money.
00:59 There's no therapeutic advantage because these products are the same, they have the same
01:04 efficacy and have the same safety.
01:06 But there is the opportunity because they typically are at a lower price, so the healthcare
01:11 system can save money or they can even maybe offer the therapy to more patients at the
01:16 same cost.
01:17 [Music]
01:21 (upbeat music)
