Evernorth to offer Humira biosimilar at $0 out of pocket for Accredo patients
In an important step toward driving long-term affordability and access to treatments for chronic and complex conditions, Evernorth Health Services Evernorth Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cigna Group, 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."
[Read more: Alvotech signs U.S. agreement to expand access for high-concentration interchangeable Humira biosimilar]
The biosimilar price will be about 85% lower than the list price for AbbVie's 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, the company said.
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, 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."
[Read more: Prioritizing Lower-Priced Biosimilar Medications]