One in 150 Canadians have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which represents the highest rate in the world. This means approximately 233,000 Canadians are struggling to manage the devastating effects of the two most common forms of IBD: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Biologic medicines constitute one of Canada's fastest-growing segments in pharmaceutical spending. For the year ending August 2014, biologics sales accounted for $5.6 billion or 24 per cent of the entire Canadian market for pharmaceuticals, and included four of the top five best-selling drugs in Canada.

A biosimilar drug is a biologic medicine made from a living organism or cell. By embracing biosimilars into Canadian health care, patients will benefit from safe and effective treatment options at a lower cost, and our health-care system will be that much more sustainable as a result.

Biologics are large molecule medicines that are so intricate that manufacturers develop them using unique, biological processes. But as patents expire for established biologic drugs, newer treatments are now entering the Canadian marketplace called Subsequent Entry Biologics. SEBs are similar, but not the same as biologics.