Boehringer Ingelheim will sell an unbranded version of its Humira biosimilar at a 92% discount to the list price of AbbVie drug for people who pay cash at pharmacies through the GoodRx price comparison platform, the companies said Thursday, putting further price pressure on the pharmaceutical giant’s flagship medicine.
The deal could help the privately-owned German drugmaker gain traction in an increasingly competitive market. In the wake of Humira’s U.S. patent expiration last year, 11 competitors have emerged with copycat drugs. Several are making strategic moves to boost their standing: Sandoz and Alvotech, for example, have cut deals with pharmacy benefits managers to gain preferred positions on drug formularies.
Boehringer launched its branded Humira biosimilar, Cyltezo, last July at a price 5% lower than Humira’s. It wasn’t alone in that strategy, as other companies, such as Amgen and Fresenius, also began selling biosimilars at small discounts to AbbVie’s drug.
But Boehringer has struggled to grow sales. Sluggish uptake of Cyltezo led Boehringer to revamp its biosimilar sales strategy and lay off staff. Now it’s offering a steeper discount in a bid to turn its launch around.
Through GoodRx, Boehringer’s unbranded biosimilar will be available at $550 per pack of two injection pens. At that price, a typical regimen of one shot every other week for rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and other autoimmune disorders would yield an out-of-pocket cost of $7,150 a year.
The Boehringer-GoodRx deal comes amid increasing signs of price and cost erosion for Humira and its lookalikes. AbbVie reported that Humira sales fell 40% year over year in the first three months of 2024. That decline is expected to continue in the wake of a decision by pharmacy benefit manager CVS Health to remove Humira from its national commercial formularies, a move that took effect on April 1.
In a recent research note, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger projected a 32% decline in year-over-year Humira sales when AbbVie reports second quarter results next week.
AbbVie is relying on its newer autoimmune drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, to offset the loss of Humira revenue. Skyrizi and Humira had nearly identical global sales in the first quarter, at $2 billion and $2.3 billion respectively, while Rinvoq generated $1.1 billion.
