STAT+: Pharmalittle: Coherus undercuts AbbVie with discounted Humira; FDA approves second RSV vaccine
Good morning, everyone. Damian Garde here, filling in for Ed Silverman on the back half of what is, at least in this part of the world, a shortened work week. Temperatures are climbing and with them the number of out-of-office email replies from colleagues who’ve thought better of working while it’s nice out. May you join them soon. In the meantime, here as always are some tidbits to get your day started. If you hear anything interesting out there, do let us know. …
Coherus BioSciences plans to sell a biosimilar version of Humira at a steep discount, STAT reports, and the company will work with Mark Cuban’s generic drug company to make the medicine available directly to consumers for even less. Coherus’ version of Humira, one of the world’s best-selling medicines, will carry a $995 list price for a carton of two autoinjectors, which is an 85% discount from the $6,922 that AbbVie charges for the branded product. Coherus will also sell its drug at a discount to the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug company, which will market the treatment for about $579.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second vaccine to protect older adults against RSV, STAT tells us, licensing Pfizer’s Abrysvo for adults 60 and older. The decision comes about a month after the agency approved GSK’s Arexvy, the first-ever vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Neither vaccine is currently available for use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must recommend the vaccines before they can be sold, a process expected to conclude later this month.
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