Boehringer Ingelheim has partnered with GoodRx to offer the drugmaker’s Humira biosimilar, adalimumab-adbm, in another move by manufacturers to try and wedge themselves into a market still dominated by AbbVie’s original drug.
Under the program, patients can use a prescription discount coupon to get adalimumab-adbm at a cash price of $550, a 92% discount from Humira’s list price.
Dorothy GemmellIt’s the first time GoodRx has offered a coupon for a biosimilar. The digital health company is betting the discount will help expand access and allow people to afford and fill their medication more easily, Dorothy Gemmell, GoodRx’s chief commercial officer, told Endpoints News.
Other companies have made moves to increase the use of Humira biosimilars. In April, Cigna’s health services arm Evernorth said it would offer Boehringer’s biosimilar for $0. But so far, lower prices haven’t done much to move the needle on sluggish biosimilar uptake, and Humira still controls about four-fifths of the market.
What has boosted adoption was CVS Caremark’s decision to kick Abbvie’s Humira off its formulary and partner with Sandoz and its biosimilar. Since then, Humira’s market share has dropped to 82%, according to a Samsung report, with much of the gains coming from Sandoz’s drug. But other major PBMs have been reluctant to remove Humira from their formularies.
Gemmell said about 20% of patients who visit GoodRx’s site are looking for savings on brand-name medications, and Humira is one of the most highly searched specialty drugs among GoodRx users. She expects to see adoption of the interchangeable Boehringer biosimilar as doctors and pharmacists tell patients about the GoodRx discount and consumer awareness grows.
For its part, Boehringer earlier this year laid off sales staff for its Humira biosimilar because of disappointing sales, Reuters has previously reported.
“We hope that by improving biosimilar affordability, the market will shift to favor these lower-cost options because of the savings for both patients and the U.S. healthcare system overall,” a spokesperson for Boehringer said.