"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."Įven 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. 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.
The two Humira biosimilar makers that spoke to Reuters would not comment on their pricing strategies.Ĭoherus BioSciences, a California-based drugmaker, is fighting AbbVie in court to launch its biosimilar in partnership with billionaire Mark Cuban at an 85% discount. Boehringer Ingelheim executive Stephen Pagnotta said the company’s Humira copy, Cyltezo, will be priced similarly to the branded product. Most of the new biosimilars are expected to debut with marginal discounts to Humira's monthly price of $6,922. In all, at least nine copies of Humira, which also treats conditions like ulcerative colitis and psoriasis, from companies including Pfizer and South Korea's Celltrion are expected to be available in the United States by the end of the year. 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. 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.
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