Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin recently signed an important legislation, Bill 134, that will help to offer patients better accessibility to interchangeable biologic medicines to treat various health conditions.
Bill 134 was previously approved in the Kentucky Senate and House earlier in April. The bill outlines various policies that integrate with principles from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). These principles concern biologic substitution.
“Senate Bill 134 enjoys the support of physicians across the country, patient groups and both innovator biologic and biosimilar manufacturing companies,” Jim Greenwood, BIO’s president and CEO, said. “This bill includes communication on all biologic medicines dispensed in order to maintain a consistent and complete medical record. By signing this bill into law, Gov. Bevin has added Kentucky the list of states that allow retail pharmacies to substitute interchangeable biologic medicines."
BIO and the Kentucky Life Science Council (KLSC) support the bill. Both agencies congratulated the governor for taking the lead on this important issue.
“We’re pleased to see Kentucky leading the way in adopting policies that not only support a growing industry in our state, but more importantly allow patients access to safe and effective therapies when the first interchangeable biologics are approved by the FDA,” Kyle Keeney, executive director of KLSC, said. “Furthermore, this will provide patients with more opportunities to address their unmet medical needs, particularly severely ill patients who rely on cutting-edge medical treatments.”
