The Senate approved legislation Thursday setting up a system for prescribing substitutions for costly biologic drugs that could help Georgia patients save money.
Senate Bill 51 creates rules for pharmacists to follow when distributing these similar medicines, which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Dean Burke, a Bainbridge physician, requires pharmacists to notify a patient's doctor when substituting medications and include information about the drug on the prescription label.
Biologic drugs are specially engineered drugs used to treat conditions including arthritis and psoriasis, but they can be expensive.
The FDA is soon scheduled to release a handful of these “biosimilar” interchangeable drugs, Burke said. “This bill will allow our state to be prepared for the release of those medications so our citizens will be able to get those interchangeable products at a much cheaper cost,” he said.
SB 51, which passed the Senate on a 47-1 vote, now moves to the House for consideration.
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