{"id":268105,"date":"2024-10-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/english-blue-shield-of-california-slashes-cost-of-worlds-best-selling-drug\/"},"modified":"2024-10-01T09:20:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T13:20:01","slug":"blue-shield-of-california-baja-el-costo-del-medicamento-mas-vendido-del-mundo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/blue-shield-of-california-baja-el-costo-del-medicamento-mas-vendido-del-mundo\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Shield of California Slashes Cost of World&#8217;s Best-selling Drug"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><![CDATA[\n\/* Style Definitions *\/\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n.prngen2{\nPADDING-RIGHT:0.17em; PADDING-LEFT:0.17em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: BOTTOM; BORDER-TOP:black 0pt; BORDER-RIGHT:black 0pt; BORDER-BOTTOM:black 0pt; BORDER-LEFT:black 0pt\n}\n.prnml4{\nMARGIN-TOP:0em; MARGIN-RIGHT:0em; MARGIN-BOTTOM:0em; MARGIN-LEFT:0.33em !IMPORTANT\n}\n.prnbcc{\nBORDER-COLLAPSE: COLLAPSE\n}\n]]><\/style>\n<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li><i>Nonprofit health plan collaborates with Fresenius Kabi and Evio Pharmacy Solutions to purchase FDA-approved Humira biosimilar for <span class=\"xn-money\">$525<\/span> per monthly dose, <\/i><i><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=3545606144&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fbiosimilarscouncil.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F04%2F04022024_IQVIA-Humira-Tracking-Executive-Summary.pdf&amp;a=compared+to+the\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">compared to the<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=372261928&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fbiosimilarscouncil.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F04%2F04022024_IQVIA-Humira-Tracking-Executive-Summary.pdf&amp;a=market+reported+net+price+of+Humira+at+%242%2C100.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">market reported net price of Humira at <span class=\"xn-money\">$2,100<\/span>.<\/a><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>New drug available for most members at <span class=\"xn-money\">$0<\/span> co-pay starting <span class=\"xn-chron\">January 1, 2025<\/span> when Blue Shield launches <a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=2853697673&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.blueshieldca.com%2F2024%2F08%2F29%2Fripping-up-the-playbook-on-drug-pricing-blue-shield-of-california-launches-first-of-its-kind-pharmacy-care-reimagined-initiative&amp;a=Pharmacy+Care+Reimagined\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Pharmacy Care Reimagined<\/a> model for its commercial customers<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">OAKLAND, Calif.<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-chron\">Oct. 1, 2024<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212; Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> today announced it has drastically cut the price it will pay for an FDA-approved biosimilar of blockbuster drug Humira \u2013 purchasing the medicine at a transparent net price of <span class=\"xn-money\">$525<\/span> per monthly dose,\u00a0compared to the <i><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=372261928&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fbiosimilarscouncil.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F04%2F04022024_IQVIA-Humira-Tracking-Executive-Summary.pdf&amp;a=market+reported+net+price+of+Humira+at+%242%2C100.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">market reported net price of Humira at <span class=\"xn-money\">$2,100<\/span>.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<div id=\"prni_dvprnejpg1eadleft\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"width: 100%; text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"prnejpg1eadleft\" title=\"Blue Shield of California Logo\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/810201\/blue_jpg_Logo.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Shield of California Logo\" align=\"middle\"\/><\/div>\n<p>The innovative agreement with drug manufacturer Fresenius Kabi, an operating company of Fresenius, and Evio Pharmacy Solutions, which facilitated the deal, eliminates the excessive markups often found in a traditional pharmacy benefit manager model. Instead, Blue Shield&#8217;s new Pharmacy Care Reimagined model allows the nonprofit health plan \u2013 among several other innovations \u2013 to provide its members with better access to biosimilar medications. Biosimilar drugs are FDA-approved for providing patients the same clinical effectiveness of a branded version &#8212; at a significantly lower, transparent cost.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We will no longer take part in a pharmacy system that is designed to maximize the profit of participants instead of the quality, convenience, and cost-effectiveness for consumers,&#8221; said <span class=\"xn-person\">Paul Markovich<\/span>, CEO, Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span>. &#8220;Every employer, health plan and payer should be asking \u2013 and challenging \u2013 their pharmacy benefit managers to offer clinically effective and lower cost alternatives at a transparent price. This is why Blue Shield decided to rebuild our pharmacy care system \u2013 so we can get medications to the right people, at the right time, at the right price.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The collaboration across Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span>, Fresenius Kabi and Evio Pharmacy Solutions marks the first time this unique business model has been used to bring a Humira biosimilar to market. Aligned incentives and removal of excess complexities among the three stakeholders unlocked the value of Fresenius Kabi&#8217;s Humira biosimilar adalimumab-aacf in a system where adoption of these lower-cost alternatives has been limited due to supply chain obstacles.<\/p>\n<p>Starting on <span class=\"xn-chron\">January 1, 2025<\/span>, most Blue Shield commercial members using Fresenius Kabi&#8217;s adalimumab-aacf will pay <span class=\"xn-money\">$0<\/span> out of pocket. This collaboration will bring drug spend\u00a0down while adherence for the medication\u00a0is expected to go up, benefiting the overall cost of care and, more importantly, member health outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Biosimilars are safe, effective, and essential to lower the cost of biologic medicines and improve their access to patients in <span class=\"xn-location\">the United States<\/span>,&#8221; said <span class=\"xn-person\">Pierluigi Antonelli<\/span>, Fresenius Kabi president and CEO.\u00a0 &#8220;Fresenius Kabi is pleased to provide this option to Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> and their members. By simplifying the drug&#8217;s path to patients, our collective goal is to make medicine more affordable and more accessible. This allows for prioritizing savings through overall lower net costs that can improve both premiums and patient out-of-pocket spending for their medication.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Evio Pharmacy Solutions facilitated the agreement that prioritizes low net costs and eliminates the traditional pharmacy benefit manager incentives that encourage higher list prices, resulting in high net costs and bigger profits for intermediaries. With a looming &#8220;biosimilar cliff&#8221; of multiple lower-cost\u00a0biosimilar drugs about to enter the market, this move to transparent net pricing sets an important precedent and path forward for the rest of the market.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are excited to continue the pharmacy transformation journey with Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span>, as our first health plan customer to participate in this new net price model,&#8221; said <span class=\"xn-person\">Matt Seibt<\/span>, head of pharmaceutical partnerships at Evio Pharmacy Solutions. &#8220;This offering will have a massive impact on reducing health care costs. Evio will continue to utilize our innovative contracting and operational model to craft additional biosimilar opportunities in the next few years.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b><u>The Drug<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Since being approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 2002, Humira has become a household name. And while the drug has helped many patients treat\u00a0inflammatory diseases,\u00a0like arthritis, Crohn&#8217;s disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, and more, it became one of the most egregious examples of inflated pricing and patent abuse in the pharmacy supply chain.<\/p>\n<p>For over 20 years, the drug\u00a0has been widely used by more than 300,000 Americans each year. After two decades of market exclusivity and <a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=2716983196&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.biopharmadive.com%2Fnews%2Fhumira-abbvie-biosimilar-competition-monopoly%2F620516%2F&amp;a=%24200\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"xn-money\">$200<\/span><\/a>\u00a0billion\u00a0in sales, Humira&#8217;s\u00a0patent exclusivity expired in <span class=\"xn-chron\">January 2023<\/span>, allowing lower-cost alternatives \u2013 known as biosimilars \u2013 to become available. However, the price has not come down to the extent it should in a functioning market, limiting widespread adoption.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Shield spends more on Humira than any other drug for its members, processing about 40,000 Humira prescriptions annually. So, an alternative option that is transparently priced, sustainably affordable, and clinically effective is\u00a0needed to help provide relief from the fast-rising cost of health care.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Humira has drawn scrutiny for its high and inconsistent pricing from both consumers and policymakers,&#8221; said <span class=\"xn-person\">Matt Gibbs<\/span>, vice president of pharmacy transformation at Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span>. &#8220;With our new low-cost alternative, Blue Shield offers a more affordable, yet equally clinically effective\u00a0option to members and employers. This move continues our organization&#8217;s path of transparency and transforming pharmacy care for the better.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Blue Shield <u><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=3891313494&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.blueshieldca.com%2F2023%2F08%2F17%2Fpharmacy-care-reimagined&amp;a=announced\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">announced<\/a><\/u> its Pharmacy Care Reimagined initiative \u2014 a first-of-its-kind effort that unbundles\u00a0the traditional pharmacy benefit manager&#8217;s opaque drug supply model, bringing transparency to each part of the system. Today&#8217;s biosimilar expansion is the latest example of this <u><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=1923563415&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.blueshieldca.com%2F2024%2F08%2F29%2Fripping-up-the-playbook-on-drug-pricing-blue-shield-of-california-launches-first-of-its-kind-pharmacy-care-reimagined-initiative&amp;a=transformation+work\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">transformation work<\/a><\/u>\u00a0and the nonprofit health plan&#8217;s efforts to reform the drug supply ecosystem. It also marks Blue Shield&#8217;s continued collaboration with Evio Pharmacy Solutions as part of the health plan&#8217;s broader initiative to ensure its members get easier, more affordable access to quality medications.<\/p>\n<p><b>About Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> strives to create a healthcare system worthy of its family and friends that is sustainably affordable. The health plan is a tax paying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Shield Association with more than 4.8 million members, over 7,100 employees and more than <span class=\"xn-money\">$25 billion<\/span> in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in <span class=\"xn-location\">San Francisco<\/span> and now headquartered in <span class=\"xn-location\">Oakland<\/span>, Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span>. The company has contributed more than <span class=\"xn-money\">$77 million<\/span> to the Blue Shield of California Foundation in the last three years to have an impact on <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> communities.<\/p>\n<p>For more news about Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span>, please visit\u00a0<u><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=775026689&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.blueshieldca.com%2F&amp;a=news.blueshieldca.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">news.blueshieldca.com<\/a><\/u>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Or follow us on\u00a0<u><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=1733513291&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fblue-shield-of-california%2F&amp;a=LinkedIn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/u>\u00a0or\u00a0<u><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=82911899&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBlueShieldCA%2F&amp;a=Facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Facebook<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<div>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"1\" class=\"prnbcc\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\" colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"4\">\n<p class=\"prnml4\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">CONTACT:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\" colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"prnml4\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Mark Seelig\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\" colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"prnml4\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Blue Shield of California<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\" colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"prnml4\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">510-607-2359<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\" colspan=\"1\" rowspan=\"1\">\n<p class=\"prnml4\"><span class=\"prnews_span\"><a href=\"mailto:media@blueshieldca.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"prnews_a\" rel=\"nofollow\">media@blueshieldca.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Logo &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=976084875&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F810201%2Fblue_jpg_Logo.jpg&amp;a=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F810201%2Fblue_jpg_Logo.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/810201\/blue_jpg_Logo.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>SOURCE  Blue Shield of <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li><i>Nonprofit health plan collaborates with Fresenius Kabi and Evio Pharmacy Solutions to purchase FDA-approved Humira biosimilar for <span class=\"xn-money\">$525<\/span> per monthly dose, <\/i><i><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4267063-1&amp;h=3545606144&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fbiosimilarscouncil.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F04%2F04022024_IQVIA-Humira-Tracking-Executive-Summary.pdf&amp;a=compared+to+the\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">compared to the<\/a> &lt;a&#8230;<br \/>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":268106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-268105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salud"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268105"}],"version-history":[{"count":"1","href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":268107,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268105\/revisions\/268107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}