- High- and low-concentration interchangeable biosimilar will
be available, estimated to save individual patients around
$3,500 on average per
year
- Biosimilar price will be about 85% lower
than Humira®*
BLOOMFIELD, Conn., April 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In an important step toward
driving long-term affordability and access to treatments for
chronic and complex conditions, Evernorth Health Services announced
that it will have a Humira® biosimilar available for
$0 out of pocket for eligible
patients of its specialty pharmacy Accredo beginning this June. The
high- and low-concentration interchangeable biosimilar will be
produced for Evernorth's affiliate private label pharmaceutical
distributor, Quallent Pharmaceuticals, through agreements with
multiple manufacturers. It will be available at $0 out of pocket for most patients through
Quallent's copay assistance program. This program is estimated to
save individual patients around $3,500 on average per year.
"Biosimilars can help drive significant savings for patients and
their health plans now and into the future. To help achieve those
savings, it is important to make sure patients are supported and
their experience is seamless," said Matt
Perlberg, president of Evernorth Health Services' pharmacy
and care delivery businesses. "Because of the leading capabilities
we have within Evernorth and across the supply chain, we are
uniquely positioned to make patients' experiences as simple as
possible."
The biosimilar price will be about 85% lower than the list
price for Humira®. For many employers, unions,
municipalities and other health plan sponsors that choose to work
with Accredo as part of their specialty pharmacy network offering,
this represents an opportunity for significant savings.
More than 100,000 Accredo patients currently use either
Humira® or one of its biosimilars, supported by
specialty-trained pharmacists and nurses in Accredo's Therapeutic
Resource Center for inflammatory conditions. Accredo's 15
condition-specific Therapeutic Resource Centers connect patients
with pharmacists and nurses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, helping
to ensure patients receive care from clinicians who specialize in
their condition and who take the time to understand their
circumstances.
"Patients living with an inflammatory condition like Crohn's
disease or rheumatoid arthritis are often navigating multiple
medications prescribed by different physicians," said Susan Peppers, RPh, vice president of pharmacy
practice at Evernorth. "Accredo helps them manage everything around
their specialty medicine – from working with their physicians,
counseling on their therapy, and administering their medications to
coordinating copay assistance and working with the patient's health
plan to secure coverage. Last year alone, we helped patients save
nearly $2.8 billion by connecting
them with copay assistance programs, and we look forward to helping
patients save even more this year."
About Evernorth Health Services
Evernorth Health
Services creates pharmacy, care and benefits solutions to improve
health and increase vitality. We relentlessly innovate to make the
prediction, prevention and treatment of illness and disease more
accessible to millions of people. Evernorth capabilities are
powered by our businesses, including Express Scripts, Express
Scripts® Pharmacy, Accredo, eviCore and MDLIVE, along with holistic
Evernorth platforms and solutions that move people and
organizations forward. All Evernorth solutions are serviced and
provided by or through operating affiliates of Evernorth Health, a
wholly owned subsidiary of The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI), or
third-party partners. Learn more at evernorth.com.
Media Contact
Justine
Sessions
Justine.Sessions@evernorth.com
860-810-6523
*Humira® is a product of AbbVie.
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SOURCE Evernorth Health Services