CVS Caremark’s recent decision to take AbbVie’s Humira off its major formularies has caused the blockbuster to lose more market share to biosimilars, according to the latest report from Samsung Bioepis.
AbbVie’s Humira (adalimumab) remains the biggest player in the anti-inflammatory space but its market share has dropped to 82% since May 2024, according to Samsung Bioepis’ latest biosimilar report released on Thursday.
Humira’s market share dipped by around 13% since Samsung Bioepis’ previous report in March 2024, while the overall share of biosimilars grew to around 18%. Most of these gains were driven by Sandoz’s and Cordavis’ copycat Hyrimoz, which now controls 13% of the market. The nine other Humira biosimilars have together taken less than 5% of the market.
Pricing has not been a strong factor in eroding Humira’s dominance. According to Samsung Bioepis’ report, the biosimilar brands provide “diverse” pricing options for adalimumab and some have offered steep discounts. Samsung Bioepis’ Hadlima and Coherus’ Yusimry cost around 85% lower than Humira, respectively.
However, coverage and access appear to be more important drivers. Humira’s market share started declining after top pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark in April 2024 removed AbbVie’s product from its major national commercial formularies. Cordavis, which launched in August 2023 and partnered with Sandoz to develop Hyrimoz, is a subsidiary of CVS Health.
In the weeks following the move, new prescriptions for Hyrimoz skyrocketed, jumping from 640 in the week ending March 29 to 8,300 in the week ending April 5.
Humira is a monoclonal antibody therapeutic that works by targeting TNF-alpha, a pro-inflammatory cytokine that has been established as a key player in several immune-mediated conditions. The FDA first granted Humira approval in 2002 for rheumatoid arthritis, but the biologic has since become one of AbbVie’s most valuable assets winning additional indications for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
In 2021, before losing key patent protections, Humira raked in $20.6 billion in revenue, representing 14% growth from the prior year. In 2023, suffering growing biosimilar erosion, Humira’s global sales dipped 32% to $14.4 billion.
Humira biosimilars first entered the U.S. market in January 2023, led by Amgen’s Amjevita. In July 2023, several other drugmakers launched their own copycat products including Celltrion’s Yuflyma and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Cyltezo, which also bears the FDA’s interchangeability designation allowing it to be swapped out for the branded reference product without a change in the prescription.
Alvotech and Teva recently won the FDA’s approval for their Humira biosimilar Simlandi, which also has the interchangeability designation and is a high-concentration and citrate-free formulation.
