Nikolai Loft, M.D., from University of Copenhagen in Hellerup, Denmark, and colleagues assessed outcomes following a mandatory nonmedical switch from adalimumab originator to adalimumab biosimilars in patients with psoriasis. The analysis included 348 patients in the adalimumab biosimilar cohort and 378 patients in the adalimumab originator cohort, identified through the Biological Treatment in Danish Dermatology registry.

The researchers found that one-year drug retention rates were 92.0 percent for the adalimumab biosimilar cohort and 92.1 percent for the adalimumab originator cohort. For the adalimumab biosimilar cohort versus the adalimumab originator cohort, the crude hazard ratios were 1.02 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.61 to 1.70; P = 0.94) for all causes of drug discontinuation, 0.82 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.39 to 1.73; P = 0.60) for insufficient effect, and 1.41 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.52 to 3.77; P = 0.50) for adverse events.

"Switching to an adalimumab biosimilar might lead to more dermatologic adverse events, although whether this is attributable to increased medical scrutiny remains unclear and warrants further study," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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