Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? We are just fine, thank you, especially since clear, blue skies and a slightly cool breeze are enveloping the Pharmalot campus this morning. To celebrate, we have given the official mascots new treats and are treating ourselves to a joyful cup of stimulation. Our choice today is pecan pie — sweets for the sweet, you know. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest to get you started on your journey, which we hope will be meaningful and productive. Best of luck, and do keep in touch. …
Eli Lilly will start providing low-dose vials of its obesity drug Zepbound through its direct-to-consumer platform, a move that will likely ease supply constraints and draw more patients to the company’s online portal, STAT writes. Lilly is also selling the vials at a discount to the currently available injectable pens, which carry a list price of $1,060 for a month’s supply. Under the new offering, which is meant for patients paying on their own without insurance, 2.5-milligram vials will cost $399 for one month’s supply, and 5-milligram vials will cost $549, roughly the equivalent of the average monthly payment for a used car. Dosages of Zepbound pens go up to 10 and 15 milligrams, but Lilly is only offering low-dose vials for now and will evaluate the possibility of selling high-dose vials later.
Cigna plans to remove AbbVie’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira from some of its lists of preferred drugs for reimbursement in 2025, and recommend less-pricey biosimilar versions of the medicine instead, Reuters tells us. Going forward, Boehringer Ingelheim’s Cyltezo, Simlandi from Teva Pharmaceuticals and Alvotech, and an unbranded version of Hyrimoz from Sandoz will be covered on some lists that are managed by its pharmacy benefits unit Express Scripts. This is the second major U.S. pharmacy benefits manager to stop recommending coverage of Humira, following similar action by CVS Health’s Caremark unit in April. That move led more patients to switch to biosimilar versions of Humira in three weeks than had in the prior 15 months.
