Eileen, 28, lives in New York City and is pursuing her dream of a career in musical theater. Her stage credits keep growing, and thanks to her biosimilar medication, her Crohn’s disease isn’t getting in the way.
I’ve been fighting Crohn’s disease with a biologic medication for as long as I can remember,she says.When I turned 26, I switched health care plans, and the biologic that I had been taking for years wasn’t covered anymore, but my doctor knew of a biosimilar that would be. So we made the change, and now I don’t pay anything for my infusions. I hope that others can have the same access and that more biosimilars will become available on insurance plans in the future. I can’t imagine not having access.
In the U.S., biosimilars have provided over $12.6 billion in savings since 2011. These safe, effective alternative versions of existing biologic medicines have been used in more than 121 million days of patient therapy. Thanks to a competitive marketplace, biosimilars deliver savings to patients and the entire health care system.
As pandemic restrictions lift on Broadway and stages around the country, Eileen is rekindling her theater aspirations and showing up for auditions. Meanwhile, thanks to her biosimilar, she’s enjoying all that New York City has to offer.
Read the 2022 Voices of Access Report
Share Your Voice
As we continue to advocate for accessible generics and biosimilars, we will rely more than ever on the voices of real patients. We invite you to share your story on what generic and biosimilar medicines mean to you and urge you to subscribe for advocacy alerts.
By Erica Klinger, Senior Director, Marketing
Published on March 15, 2022