Boehringer enlists Cigna's Quallent to expand Humira biosimilar reach
Drug ApprovalBiosimilarLicense out/in
Boehringer Ingelheim has inked a deal with a private-label pharmaceutical distributor owned by Cigna to expand patient access to its citrate-free adalimumab-adbm biosimilar, an interchangeable version of AbbVie's Humira (adalimumab) blockbuster that went off patent last year.
The tie-up with Quallent Pharmaceuticals "will increase availability of our adalimumab biosimilar for patients living with certain chronic inflammatory diseases," according to Chris Marsh, senior vice president of value and access at Boehringer.
The German drugmaker launched a low-concentration biosimilar last July under the brand name Cyltezo (adalimumab-adbm), and received FDA approval for a high-concentration formulation earlier this month. Cyltezo is priced at a 5% discount to Humira's list price of $6922 per month, while the unbranded high-concentration version carries an 81% discount.
Under the deal announced Monday, Boehringer will manufacture adalimumab-adbm for Quallent, while continuing to commercialise its own branded Cyltezo injection as well as the unbranded version. Quallent will be offering both high- and low-concentration citrate-free formulations in pre-filled syringes or pens through a copay assistance programme.
Sales team overhaul
The new partnership comes as Boehringer looks to overhaul its sales team for Cyltezo, citing lower-than-expected uptake of Humira biosimilars in the US market. Despite being the first interchangeable biosimilar approved for Humira and securing formulary positions with major pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the company acknowledged last month that "the adoption of Humira biosimilars at scale has not reached its anticipated potential," as AbbVie's drug, until recently, has kept a firm grip on the market.
That's likely to change now that CVS Caremark has replaced Humira with biosimilar versions of the anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibody on the majority of its commercial plans – a move that has led to a recent surge in new prescriptions for Sandoz's competing biosimilar Hyrimoz (adalimumab-adaz). For more, see – FDA refreshes biosimilar action plan, but uptake may be in hands of payers like Cigna.
Meanwhile, Teva is gearing up to launch its own high-concentration, citrate-free Humira biosimilar, Simlandi (adalimumab-ryvk) this quarter. Developed in partnership with Alvotech, Simlandi was approved by the FDA in February as the first high-concentration, citrate-free biosimilar to be interchangeable with Humira.
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