转一篇文章，英文的，我就不翻译了，没必要也怕翻不好。
原网址如下 http://www.biosimilarsknowledgeconnect.com/biosimilars-by-region/latin-america
Limited healthcare resources across many Latin American countries mean that important biologics for conditions such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are being underutilized, due largely to their cost and a lack of reimbursement from state health insurance programs. These factors contribute to suboptimal adoption of clinical best practice recommendations and inequality of care across the region. Payers are increasingly looking to biosimilars to help curb healthcare expenditure and broaden patient access. Legislation to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of biosimilars, and enforce rigorous regulatory and testing standards, already exists in the region, but varies from country to country. Currently, several biosimilars are being developed and tested in Latin America, under such legislation, for conditions ranging from RA to breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.
In Latin American countries, where healthcare resources are often limited, the high cost of biologics is a major barrier in clinical practice. Important biologics for conditions such as cancer and RA are underutilized, due largely to a lack of reimbursement from state health insurance and the resulting ‘out-of-pocket’ expenses that are frequently unaffordable for patients. Consequently, adherence to clinical best practice is often not feasible and quality of care varies widely.
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- Trastuzumab, the first of the HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2)-directed therapies, has dramatically improved outcomes for patients with early1 or metastatic breast cancer.2 However, clinical oncologists surveyed in Mexico and Brazil frequently cite cost as a barrier to prescribing trastuzumab.3 In Peru, more than half of the population depend on public healthcare, which does not cover the cost of breast cancer treatment.4
- Rituximab, an important advance in lymphoma treatment, is effective in the treatment of a wide variety of hematologic malignancies.5 However, many physicians (surveyed in Mexico and Brazil) are either unable to prescribe rituximab or have to deviate from treatment guidelines, largely because of cost.6
- Anti-angiogenic biologics for use in metastatic colorectal cancer are not covered by public health insurance in a number of Latin American countries, such as Brazil and Peru, meaning that many eligible patients who could benefit from these treatments are denied them.7
- Biologics have greatly improved RA care, but access to these therapies is restricted in some Latin America countries because of limited reimbursement and the resulting high out-of-pocket costs.8,9 In Mexico, the high cost of RA biologics means that they are available to only a few privately insured patients. Even those who are covered may still need to find a way to pay upfront, because some insurance companies do not pre-pay for the treatment.10
- In Argentina, patient access to insulin analogues is limited. They are not covered in the public healthcare sector and access within the social security and private healthcare sectors is subject to an audit system, which requires the physician to demonstrate in writing that insulin analogue treatment is essential to their patient.11
