Sandoz bucks trend with “explosion” in US prescriptions for Humira biosimilar

17 Apr 2024
firstwordpharma.com
BiosimilarDrug ApprovalPatent Expiration
CVS Caremark’s decision to replace AbbVie’s Humira (adalimumab) with biosimilar versions of the anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibody has led to a recent “explosion” in new prescriptions for Sandoz’s Hyrimoz (adalimumab-adaz). The numbers, detailed in a recent analyst note from Evercore ISI, signal that biosimilars may be able to finally break Humira's market dominance in the US.
Humira lost patent protection in the US at the start of 2023 and currently faces competition from nine biosimilars, including interchangeable versions in Boehringer Ingelheim's Cyltezo (adalimumab-adbm) and more recently Teva/Alvotech's Simlandi (adalimumab-ryvk). However, Evercore ISI analysts noted that as of the end of March, AbbVie’s drug still held on to around 95% market share for new prescriptions.
Indeed, Boehringer recently conceded that the “adoption of Humira biosimilars at scale has not reached its anticipated potential,” leading the company to pare back its customer-facing teams for Cyltezo. Boehringer blamed the slow adoption on “the complexities of a complicated landscape” in the US, coupled with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) keeping Humira on formulary.
Hyrimoz now appears to be defying this trend after Sandoz secured a contract last year with CVS and its wholly-owned subsidiary Cordavis. Under the deal, Cordavis is committed to a minimum purchasing amount, while Sandoz receives a fixed price for Hyrimoz.
According to Evercore ISI, prescriptions for Hyrimoz were around 643 for the week ending March 29, but jumped to approximately 8294 in the week ending April 5, shortly after Humira was dropped from CVS’s formularies in favour of Sandoz’s product.
Evercore ISI noted that the increase has pushed Humira biosimilar penetration up from around 5% to 36%, with Hyrimoz accounting for approximately 93% of the uptick. Growth over the same period was also seen for Organon/Samsung
Bioepis’ Hadlima (adalimumab-bwwd), although to a much lesser extent. The analysts said they “expect the faster adoption to continue,” with products that are high concentration and citrate-free holding an advantage.
The growth for Hyrimoz comes as the US government pursues efforts to boost biosimilar uptake, an area where the country has lagged in comparison to Europe. President Joe Biden’s budget for 2025 includes a provision that would allow substitution without the need for an interchangeable designation from the FDA (for related analysis, see Physician Views Results: Lack of financial incentive and prescriber confidence stalling adoption of biosimilar Humira products).
For more details,please visit the original website
The content of the article does not represent any opinions of Synapse and its affiliated companies. If there is any copyright infringement or error, please contact us, and we will deal with it within 24 hours.
Organizations
Indications
-
Targets
-
Drugs
Chat with Hiro
Get started for free today!
Accelerate Strategic R&D decision making with Synapse, PatSnap’s AI-powered Connected Innovation Intelligence Platform Built for Life Sciences Professionals.
Start your data trial now!
Synapse data is also accessible to external entities via APIs or data packages. Empower better decisions with the latest in pharmaceutical intelligence.