Celltrion's 'Uplima' Targets US Market with 'Idoryu' Strategy

Celltrion's flagship autoimmune disease treatment, Uplyma, which aims for an annual sales target of 3.5 trillion KRW this year, is accelerating its entry into the U.S. market with a 'dual pricing policy.'

Celltrion's biosimilar for autoimmune disease treatment, 'Uplima'
[Photo by Celltrion]

On the 10th, Celltrion announced that it recently launched a low wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) version of Uplyma, developed as a biosimilar to Humira, in the U.S. market. Until now, Celltrion had adopted a single pricing strategy, setting the wholesale price at $6,576.5, which is only a 5% discount compared to Humira’s monthly wholesale price of $6,922. However, the newly launched product is priced significantly lower at $1,038 per month, reflecting an 85% discount.

This represents the introduction of a dual pricing policy that diversifies wholesale prices according to the characteristics of the U.S. market. In the U.S. market, if Uplyma is not listed on the formulary of the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) associated with the patient’s insurer, doctors find it difficult to prescribe Uplyma to patients. This is because the PBM only guarantees reimbursement for drugs listed on its formulary; otherwise, patients must bear the full cost of the medication.

Unlike Korea, rebates are allowed in the U.S. market, so PBMs consider rebate rates when selecting drugs to be included on their formularies. Rebates paid to PBMs are calculated as a percentage of the wholesale price. The higher the wholesale price, the greater the PBM’s profit, naturally leading PBMs to prefer higher wholesale price products. However, companies like Amgen, Sandoz, and Boehringer Ingelheim, which also offer high wholesale price products, have simultaneously implemented a dual pricing strategy by selling lower wholesale price products with discounts of up to 87%.

Celltrion explained the significance of this dual pricing by stating, "The existing high wholesale price products are supplied to the public insurance market where rebate rates are low, while the lower wholesale price products are supplied to the private insurance market where rebate levels are high, maximizing profitability across the entire market."

They also described it as a tailored strategy considering the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to be implemented next year. The U.S. government is actively pushing for drug price reductions through the IRA, which requires insurers to pay 60% of the excess cost for drugs priced over $2,000 annually. As a result, market preference is expected to shift toward lower wholesale price products starting next year. Celltrion believes that "in anticipation of these regulatory changes, they have quickly listed the lower wholesale price products with fewer rebates on major PBMs with high market shares, securing a more advantageous position in market penetration."

In addition to introducing the dual pricing policy, Celltrion plans to further accelerate its U.S. market penetration based on recent contracts with two of the U.S.’s PBMs. The U.S. PBM market is currently dominated by three major PBMs?CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx?which control 80% of the market. One of the key reasons Uplyma’s market share remains at the 0.1% level is the difficulty in expanding coverage with these PBMs. However, by securing contracts with two of the major PBMs, Celltrion has succeeded in increasing its coverage in the U.S. market to 50% at once. The company plans to finalize a listing contract with the remaining PBM within the year to significantly expand coverage.

Thomas Nusbickel, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Celltrion USA, said, "As access methods to pharmaceuticals diversify in the U.S., the launch of biosimilars has expanded the value that can be enjoyed through price competition and improved patient access to healthcare. Through the dual pricing policy, accessibility to Uplyma will be further enhanced, and based on this, we expect economic benefits to be provided to autoimmune disease patients and the overall healthcare system."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.