Avoiding the nocebo trap with natalizumab biosimilars

Monoclonal antibodies such as natalizumab are indispensable for multiple sclerosis therapy. A first recently approved biosimilar is clinically equivalent, as studies have shown. Nevertheless, reservations are widespread in practice. Patients mistakenly associate lower prices with inferior quality. These negative expectations provoke the nocebo effect. It manifests itself in subjective complaints or discontinuation of treatment, which jeopardize therapeutic success.