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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu, despite there being ten Humira -referenced biosimilars on the market, nine of which launched in 2023. Until now the biosimilars have gained minimal traction. But that is changing. The number of new prescriptions written for biosimilar versions of Humira soared to 36% from just 5% during the first week of April, after CVS Caremark altered its formulary.
The big leap in biosimilar prescriptions was attributed to one particular product called Hyrimoz, which is manufactured by Sandoz, a former unit of Novartis that is a leading supplier of generic and biosimilar medicines. Hyrimoz is jointly marketed with Cordavis, a new wholly owned subsidiary that CVS created last August, and has a wholesale acquisition cost that is roughly 80% lower than Humira.
It appears that the PBM Express Scripts is following a similar path to the one taken by CVS Caremark. Starting in June,its private label Humira-referenced biosimilar, adalimumab-adbm, with a list price that is about 85% lower than the originator product. The product will be manufactured by Boehringer-Ingelheim for Quallent Pharmaceuticals, which is a wholly owned Express Scripts subsidiary. Moreover, the product will be available to patients at Accredo, which is the PBM’s specialty pharmacy.
In such a scenario it’s unlikely other biosimilars will make inroads in terms of uptake, despite the fact that the wholesale acquisition cost of Hyrimoz is higher than, for example, the biosimilar Yusimry which Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company sells.Effectively the strategies employed by CVS Caremark and Express Scripts preserve elements of the oft-criticized rebate system, though not with rebates per se but rather with co-branded licensing fees and acquisition cost discounts.
CVS Health Humira Hyrimoz Biosimilars Formulary Express Scripts Vertical Integration
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