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Shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) were down 6% in afternoon trading Friday in the wake of the drugmaker’s Q1 earnings report and news that Cigna (CI) plans to offer a biosimilar of AbbVie’s top-selling drug Humira at no cost to certain patients.
Late Thursday, Cigna’s Evernorth unit announced it will be offering the biosimilar of Humira through its Accredo specialty pharmacy beginning in June with zero out-of-pocket costs for most patients, thanks to a copay assistance program being offered by Evernorth’s affiliate private label distributor, Quallent Pharmaceuticals. The company estimates the program would save patients around $3,500 a year.
Cigna added that the biosimilar will be priced around 85% lower than branded Humira. High and low-concentrations of the product will be produced for Quallent through agreements with multiple manufacturers, according to the company.
According to Reuters, Accredo will be offering Humira biosimilars manufactured by Teva (TEVA), Boehringer Ingelheim and Alvotech (ALVO). It noted that nine Humira biosimilars were introduced to the U.S. market last year.
Early Friday, AbbVie released its Q1 earnings report that showed Humira global sales had tumbled 36% year-over-year to $2.27B.
Once the world’s best-selling medication, Humira is used to treat a variety of autoimmune disorders, including Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis.
