(Reuters) – Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim on Monday launched an unbranded version of its biosimilar of AbbVie Inc’s Humira that would be 81% cheaper than the blockbuster arthritis drug.
The company’s branded biosimilar, Cyltezo, which is priced at a 5% discount to Humira’s current list price of $6,922 per month, was launched in July. Boehringer’s products are the only ones that can be substituted for the original without consulting the prescriber.
Drugmakers Novartis-owned Sandoz and Amgen have also launched Humira biosimilars with two pricing tiers.
Sandoz’s biosimliar Hyrimoz is sold at a 5% discount to Humira’s price, while the unbranded version is sold at an 81% discount.
The heavily discounted versions of these drugs, however, may not be widely used as it is unlikely to appeal to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that recommend which drugs most insurance providers should cover.
Unlike pills, which have extremely cheap generic copies, complex, expensive biologics made from living cells cannot be exactly duplicated. Their closest alternatives are called biosimilars.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
