Adalimumab-adbm was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021 as an interchangeable biosimilar with AbbVie’s Humira, which is marketed for the treatment of inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis.
As a result of the initiative, adalimumab-adbm will be offered for $550 per two-pack as high-concentration and low-concentration citrate-free formulations in the form of a pre-filled syringe or autoinjector. This is more than 90% lower than the list price for Humira, which costs an average of $7,300 without insurance.
“Patients with certain chronic inflammatory diseases who do not have insurance or are underinsured may not be able to afford essential biologic medicines, including biosimilars, to treat their disease,” said Chris Marsh, senior vice president of value and access at Boehringer Ingelheim, in a public statement. “Partnering with GoodRx to offer our biosimilar Adalimumab-adbm at a low price to these patients helps us deliver on our commitment to lowering financial barriers and improving access to critical treatments.”
Cutting costs with biosimilars
The US spends more on prescription drugs than any other country in the world, with a big driver being expensive biologics. Generic and biosimilar drugs tend to be cheaper than brand-name alternatives, and saved the U.S. healthcare system $408 billion in 2022 and $2.9 trillion over the last decade.
Like its branded equivalent, adalimumab-adbm blocks a pro-inflammatory cytokine called tumour necrosis factor (TNF), which is elevated in some inflammatory conditions. As an interchangeable biosimilar, adalimumab-adbm at its 50 mg/mL dosage can be automatically substituted for Humira by a pharmacist without the intervention of the prescribing health care provider.
Humira was first approved by the U.S. FDA in 2002 and became a blockbuster. The first biosimilar to challenge its dominance, Amgen’s Amjevita, was approved by the U.S. regulator in 2016, but AbbVie reached a legal settlement with Amgen to delay its launch until 2023.
GoodRx was founded in 2011 and offers an online telemedicine platform to compare pharmacy prices and provide treatments at lower costs. The firm teamed up with Sanofi to sell its insulin product Lantus for $35 on the platform last year and this latest initiative is its first foray into the world of biosimilars.