Fractured European market undermines biosimilar launches

Two versions of the world's biggest-selling biotech drug, erythropoietin ( EPO), hit the market in Europe, having been approved through the European Medicines Agency's ( EMEA) much vaunted biosimilars legislation. France had passed legislation saying that there could be no automatic substitution of a biogeneric for the original product, followed by Spain. This raises the question of whether Europe's perceived success in creating a single pathway for biogeneric drugs will be fatally undermined by the costs and complications of dealing with the continent's fragmented national markets.