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My sister and I grew up doing mostly everything together. She was three years older than me, but I always aspired to be exactly like her. I would follow her and her friends around every day, and try to buy the same exact clothes. However, when my sister graduated high school, we began growing apart. She was attending a university that was out of state, and neither of us were very good at communicating. However, I still thought she was someone I could look up to, and planned on attending school at the same exact place. After three years had passed, and it was time for me to go to college, I had re-arranged my interests. My sister had been spending her four year degree in biology, and was a pre-med student. I had found my passion for the arts, and even had been offered a scholarship in performance art. My parents were extremely surprised with this direction, but I knew that it was time for me to begin being my own person. Throughout college, my sister and I grew close again. While we were far away from one another, we communicated through social networking, and showed great interest in one another's lives. She often would fly out for my big performances, and I visited her during my breaks. By the time I was ready to graduate from my program, my sister was just entering medical school. She still had a long road ahead of her, but she was extremely passionate about what she was doing with her life. Upon visiting her to celebrate her recent engagement, my sister was working on studying something called biosimilars. I had never heard of biosimilars before, but my sister needed help studying, so it was my duty to read information on biosimilars and ask her questions to quiz her. During our quizzing session, I learned a great deal about biosimilars. I learned that the word itself was used to describe things that were officially approved versions of biopharmaceutical products that were made by a different type of sponsor, which follows patent and expiry on the innovator's product. I learned that biosimilars have high molecular complexity. One of the issues that my sister was studying was how sensitive biosimilars were to changes in the manufacturing processes. I quizzed my sister on the approval process and issues with the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. I also quizzed my sister on the recent political issues that had been involved in biosimilars, and we covered the background that led to where we were at that point in the process. I quizzed her on data regarding biosimilars, and also various acts that had been involved in things such as biosimilars and follow on biologics. While much of this information was way over my head, quizzing my sister and hearing her responses explained to me, allowed me to understand where exactly she was coming from. The way that my sister explained things not only allowed her to better understand biosimilars, but it filled me in on some of those details that I would not have been able to understand, had I simply attempted to read in various literature or online material. I may have been similar to my sister for the majority of my childhood, but there is the true reality that with time, people change. We were always able to remain close throughout adulthood, but the reality is that we could not have been more different as people. Her passion for her schoolwork and career was admirable and interesting, and I supported her journey the entire way--whether it be by helping her study, or simply encouraging her!
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