Amgen reduces price on Repatha
Amgen is making Repatha (evolocumab), an innovative biologic medicine for people with high cholesterol who are at risk for heart attacks and strokes, available at a reduced list price of $5,850 per year. This 60% reduction from the medicine’s original list price will improve affordability by lowering patient copays, especially for Medicare patients.
“Cardiovascular disease is one of the country’s most significant health challenges, and every 40 seconds someone in America has a heart attack or stroke,” said Robert Bradway, Amgen chairman and CEO. “Repatha can help to address this significant public health issue, but concerns over out-of-pocket costs have proven to be a barrier to its use for too many patients. We want to make sure that every patient who needs Repatha gets Repatha.”
Bradway noted that an estimated 75% of Medicare patients prescribed a PCSK9 inhibitor never actually fill their prescriptions, mainly due to high out-of-pocket costs.
Amgen is making Repatha available at a reduced list price by introducing new National Drug Codes. SureClick the most commonly used delivery system, will be available immediately; the Pre-Filled Syringe and Pushtronex (monthly, on-body infusor) delivery systems will be available in the next two to three months. The lower priced Repatha is identical to the Repatha currently available.
“This is a unique solution for a unique situation,” said Murdo Gordon, Amgen executive vice president of global commercial operations.
Throughout 2018, Amgen has been offering payers significant rebates on Repatha in exchange for improved patient access through, for example, more simple utilization management criteria. The company now has agreements in place with payers representing greater than 65% of Repatha's commercial revenue.
“Unfortunately, higher rebates don't typically result in lower out-of-pocket costs for patients, especially for Medicare patients,” Gordon said. “We are confident today’s action will address this challenge.”
To allow for a smooth transition to these lower-priced options, Amgen will continue offering Repatha at its original list price for a period of time, with an expectation of discontinuing the original list price of Repatha by the end of 2020 or sooner.