GoodRx (GDRX) announced a new partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim to provide discounts for a biosimilar to rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira Thursday, adding to an increasingly competitive market.
The move gives Boehringer more visibility for Cyltezo in what is now a crowded biosimilar market, with 10 products with similar formulations — biologically similar — competing against AbbVie's (ABBV) blockbuster Humira.
Until recently, some of the biggest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) had placed AbbVie's Humira in the same formulary tier as the new biosimilars, meaning it was at parity or on a level playing field.
Despite steep discounts in pricing — 5% to up to 90% of Humira's list price — AbbVie remained in the lead with a 96% market share.
That's based on data from biopharma Samsung Bioepis in April. But that began to shift thanks to a change in the formulary by one of the largest PBMs.
CVS (CVS) said its PBM, Caremark, removed Humira from the formulary in April and has already realized hundreds of millions in savings from the move.
"Ninety-seven percent of patients using Humira now have transitioned to a preferred biosimilar. As a result, these clients have saved $315 million in net costs across April and May 2024, and their members’ out-of-pocket costs have been reduced to $0," a CVS spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.
CVS is also selling its own biosimilar, Hyrimoz, through its biosimilar business Cordavis.
The move has impacted Humira, which reported a 38% drop in total prescriptions as of July, according to data from IQVIA, a data site that follows drug trends. How that will impact sales for the quarter is yet to be seen, as the company reports second quarter earnings on July 25. In the first quarter, AbbVie was already feeling the impact, reporting a nearly 40% decline in U.S. revenues of Humira, compared to the first quarter of 2023, to just $1.8 billion.
But others haven't followed suit. UnitedHealth Group's (UNH) PBM, Optum Rx, was the first to announce biosimilars on the same tier as Humira in 2022 and continues to maintain that in 2024. And Cigna's (CI) Express Scripts added three biosimilars, including Cyltezo and Hyrimoz, alongside Humira in 2023. It also announced a new private-label biosimilar that would have a $0 copay this year.
Low awareness
When asked why GoodRx was getting into this market, chief commercial officer Dorothy Gemmell said there is still room to compete.
"There is still such low awareness and understanding from consumers, as well as a lot of friction from HCPs [healthcare providers]," she said.
"I think that Humira has benefitted from that. In order to drive accessibility and affordability and start to do that, this is one approach [Boehringer Ingelheim] are taking," Gemmell added.
GoodRx has been able to grow beyond simply offering discounts on generics and has added more than a dozen branded drugs. Cyltezo is the first biosimilar that GoodRx is offering at a discounted price.
"This will be the first biosimilar from a cash perspective. I think it helps that it's interchangeable. And Boehringer Ingelheim is making it available to all Americans, regardless of insurance status," Gemmell said.
Cyltezo will sell for $550, a 92% discount from the Humira list price of about $7,000.
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, care services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. Follow Anjalee on all social media platforms @AnjKhem.
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