Multidisciplinary management of the nocebo effect in biosimilar-treated IBD patients: Results of a workshop from the NOCE-BIO consensus group

The high cost of biological drugs for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) considerably impacts on health-care budgets. Since the patent of biological products expired, cheaper biosimilars have entered the market. Available data coming from real-world cohorts and clinical trials indicate that the efficacy and safety of biosimilars is comparable to that of the originator drugs. Treating IBD patients with a biosimilar may be complicated by the risk of the nocebo effect, a negative effect of a pharmacological or non-pharmacological treatment, induced by patients’s expectations and unrelated to the physiological action of the treatment. The nocebo effect can negatively affect treatment outcomes and hamper the cost-savings of biosimilars. Reducing the nocebo effect requires a multidisciplinary effort of all health-care providers in charge of biosimilar-treated IBD patients. The aim of the review is to reflect the key messages of an international workshop on this topic, including viewpoints from the perspective of physicians, nurses, psychologists, pharmacists and patients.