Washington: Boehringer Ingelheim will sell an unbranded version of AbbVie’s reference drug at a 92% discount to gain traction in the Humira (adalimumab) biosimilar market.
Patients will be able to purchase adalimumab-adbm exclusively through GoodRx, an online telemedicine company that works with pharma manufacturers to offer prescription drugs at reduced prices.
Effective immediately, the price for a two-pack pre-filled syringe or autoinjector has been set at $550, representing a 92% discount on Humira’s list price, Boehringer Ingelheim and GoodRx said in a joint 18 July press release.
AbbVie’s Humira lost patent protection last year, paving the way for a market proliferation of biosimilars. Biosimilars are drugs that are similar to US Food and Drug Administration-approved biologics.
AbbVie’s anti-inflammatory blockbuster generated sales of $21.2bn in its last year of market exclusivity. Sales are expected to weaken, with an analysis by GlobalData predicting a revenue slump to $2.6bn by 2030. Humira previously cost $7,000 for a four-week supply at the list price.
Humira’s weakening performance was captured when healthcare giant CVS Health dropped the medication from its list of covered drugs. CVS instead opted to launch a new subsidiary called Cordavis tasked with creating biosimilars. The company previously reported that the biosimilar market in the US is expected to top $100bn in revenues by 2029.
Since Humira’s patents expired, 11 competitors have come to market with copycat drugs. Boehringer Ingelheim joined the arena last July with a branded version named Cyltezo – priced 5% lower than Humira. The company’s unbranded version, launched later, provided an 81% markdown on Humira. This price split strategy—launching branded and unbranded versions—was shared by Amgen and Biocon with their own Humira biosimilars Amjevita and Hulio.
However, Boehringer Ingelheim had an underwhelming rollout with Cyltezo, with uptake slower than expected. The company even had to lay off employees earlier this year as a result. The GoodRx team-up is the latest effort by Boehringer Ingelheim to gain a share in the Humira biosimilar market.
Boehringer Ingelheim’s value and access senior vice president Chris Marsh said: “Patients with certain chronic inflammatory diseases who do not have insurance or are underinsured may not be able to afford essential biologic medicines, including biosimilars, to treat their disease.”
“Partnering with GoodRx to offer our biosimilar adalimumab-adbm at a low price to these patients helps us deliver on our commitment to lowering financial barriers and improving access to critical treatments.”
AbbVie meanwhile has pinned hopes on its autoimmune drugs Skyrizi (risankizumab) and Rinvoq (upadacitinib) to counteract revenue losses from Humira. GlobalData analysts say that AbbVie’s two-pronged approach with these next-generation drugs means it has rebuffed much of its potential autoimmune sector marginalisation. For competitors on the other hand, it was a “missed opportunity”.
