Analysis: New Humira rivals likely to hit US market with small discounts in July

Celltrion

30/06/2023 11:00

By Patrick  Wingrove
       NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) - At least four drugmakers
are expected to launch new copycat versions of AbbVie's  ABBV.N 
top-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira, over the next
week, but experts expect little change in prices for the
treatment even with the new competition.
    Drugmakers Boehringer Ingelheim, Sandoz and Organon are
expected to launch their biosimilars on Saturday, adding to U.S.
competition for the drug that started when Amgen  AMGN.O 
released its copy in January. Germany's Fresenius  FREG.DE 
plans to release its copycat version on Monday, according to the
company.
    Usually prices fall, often dramatically, when multiple
generic versions of a widely used medication enter market.
    But manufacturers of Humira biosimilars - the name for
copies of biologic drugs - are likely to keep prices high to
compete with one another for leverage with pharmacy benefit
managers (PBMs), which negotiate insurance coverage on behalf of
their customers - large employers and health insurance plans,
industry experts said. 
    PBMs have come under increasing scrutiny for taking some of
their fees as a percentage of the discounts they negotiate for
drugs that they cover, which some lawmakers have said can lead
them to favor higher-priced medicines in their negotiations.
    In all, at least nine copies of Humira, which also treats
conditions like ulcerative colitis and psoriasis, from companies
including Pfizer  PFE.N  and South Korea's Celltrion  068270.KS 
are expected to be available in the United States by the end of
the year.
    Most of the new biosimilars are expected to debut with
marginal discounts to Humira's monthly price of $6,922.
Boehringer Ingelheim executive Stephen Pagnotta said the
company’s Humira copy, Cyltezo, will be priced similarly to the
branded product. 
    The two Humira biosimilar makers that spoke to Reuters would
not comment on their pricing strategies. 
    Coherus BioSciences  CHRS.O , a California-based drugmaker,
is fighting AbbVie in court to launch its biosimilar in
partnership with billionaire Mark Cuban at an 85% discount. 
    Robert Popovian, the chief science policy officer at patient
advocacy group Global Healthy Living Foundation, said: "I don’t
foresee anyone changing their pricing policy," but added that
PBMs might face political pressure to cover Coherus' 
significantly discounted copy.
    "Cuban has a big presence," he said, "and it will be
difficult for PBMs to explain why they are not covering the
product that is 85% lower in price."
    Even if PBMs secure discounts for the health plans they
represent on the high-priced Humira biosimilars, patients who
pay co-insurance costs out of pocket will probably lose out,
said Vanderbilt University Professor Stacie Dusetzina. 
    "The thing that is really upsetting is because patients
often pay based on the list price for these higher-priced drugs,
they wouldn't get that price relief, even if the plans are
getting the price relief," she said. 
    Until recently, Humira was the world’s biggest-selling
non-COVID prescription drug, hitting a record $21.2 billion in
sales for 2022. 
    Humira cost the U.S. government more than $2.9 billion in
2021, according to data from the agency that runs the Medicare
and Medicaid health programs. It is expected to be excluded from
government drug price negotiations that start later this year
because rival medicines are now on the market. 
    AbbVie has forecast a 37% drop in Humira sales in 2023 due
to competition. Analysts predict that sales of Humira will fall
to $14.1 billion this year, before dropping to $8.7 billion in
2024 and $6.1 billion the following year, according to Refinitiv
data.
    The market share each of the biosimilar makers capture will
be determined in part by the deals they strike with PBMs like
CVS Health Corp  CVS.N , Cigna Group's  CI.N  Express Scripts,
and UnitedHealth Group's  UNH.N  Optum RX, which together
control 80% of the prescription drug market.
    The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, which
represents these PBMs, declined to comment on the potential
prices of the Humira copies. CVS said only drugmakers can set
the prices for their drugs. 

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More U.S. competition arriving for
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 (Reporting by Patrick Wingrove in New York
Editing by Michele Gershberg and Matthew Lewis)
 ((Patrick.Wingrove@thomsonreuters.com;))