By Patrick Wingrove
Reuters – Pharmaceutical partners Organon and Samsung Bioepis said Saturday they have launched a much cheaper copy of AbbVie’s blockbuster arthritis drug Humira, while two other pharmaceutical companies have branded it. Entered the market at a significant discount on the list price of pharmaceuticals.
The counterfeit drug, called Hadrima, will sell for $1,038 a month, an 85% discount to Humira’s current price of $6,922, according to the companies.
Swiss pharmaceutical company Sandoz also announced on Saturday that it has launched a biosimilar to Humira, Hilimoz, at a 5% discount off the price of branded drugs, as well as an unbranded version of Humira at an 81% discount.
Germany-based Boehringer Ingelheim has since announced that it has launched a rival version of Humira, Sirtezo, at a price cut of 5% to 7% from the list price of branded medicines.
Unlike tablets, which have very cheap generic copies, they cannot exactly replicate complex and expensive biologics made from living cells. The closest alternatives to them are called biosimilars.
Whether Organon and Samsung Bioepis have contracted pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) to negotiate coverage on behalf of major employers and health insurance plans to ensure reimbursement of Hadrima to patients. did not disclose.
The three PBMs, CVS Health Corp (CVS.N), Cigna Group’s (CI.N)’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH.N)’s Optum RX, together control 80% of the US prescription drug market. there is
Medical experts predicted that some Humira biosimilars would be launched at slightly discounted prices to appeal to pharmacy welfare officers. Part of the fee is part of the negotiated savings, and PBM is expected to receive a significant discount from the announced medical plan price.
Organon CEO Kevin Ali said in an interview with Reuters that pharmaceutical companies that did not make Humira biosimilar PBM deals this year will have the next six months to fight for reimbursement coverage in 2024. said it would be
“At the moment, it’s all about how you think about the competition to get into the (PBM) formulary,” he said.
Hadrima was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019, but the terms of the legal settlement with AbbVie restricted the company from offering Hadrima in the United States.
Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., launched its first Humira biosimilar for the U.S. in January at 5% and 55% off branded drugs, depending on the buyer.
California drugmaker CoHealth Biosciences last month announced plans to partner with billionaire Mark Cuban to launch biosimilars at an 85% discount.
AbbVie is suing the company for violating an agreement that granted CoHealth a non-exclusive license to commercialize a biosimilar version of Humira in the United States beginning July 1.
(This article has been re-edited to fix a typo in the heading)
(Reporting by Patrick Wingrove, Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
