Date of Award
Summer 8-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Pharmaceutical Sciences
First Advisor
Enrique Seoane-Vazquez
Second Advisor
Lawrence M. Brown
Third Advisor
Marc L. Fleming
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Since 1982, Saudi Arabia (SA) and the United States (US) have seen an increase in therapeutic biologics authorization. However, each country has regulatory regulations governing the approval of these cutting-edge drugs. The high cost of biologics financially burdens healthcare systems and delays patient access to these treatments. Sometimes a company selling the same medications in various countries will have conflicting information on drug labels.
OBJECTIVES: This study compared the characteristics of therapeutic biologics authorization by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as of December 31, 2021. The study also compared the US and SA biologics prices between 2016 and 2019. This study also assessed the differences in indications and safety information on the therapeutic biologics labels authorized by the FDA and SFDA between 1982 and 2021.
METHODS: Authorization information was collected from Orange Book, Drugs@FDA, Purple Book, and the SFDA website. We used the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and Veterans Affairs websites to collect US prices. Saudi prices were obtained from annual bulletins distributed by the National Unified Procurement Company (NUPCO) to governmental hospitals. Labeling information was collected from labels.fda.gov and the SFDA website. We used descriptive statistics, as well as linear mixed-effect and logistic regressions.
RESULTS: The number of therapeutic biologics authorized by both agencies increased over time, with a particularly high number of orphan-designated and FDA-priority review biologics. Biologics approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and those in the therapeutic classes of antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents and blood and blood-forming organs were found to be statistically associated with availability in Saudi Arabia (p
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Altowairgi, T. A. Authorizations, Prices, and Labeling Differences of Therapeutic Biologics Marketed in the United States and Saudi Arabia. [dissertation]. Irvine, CA: Chapman University; 2023. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000496
Included in
Other Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons, Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Economics Commons, Pharmacy Administration, Policy and Regulation Commons