Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer On Thursday, he said they will begin to sell their successful fine, Eliquis, directly to patients with a discount of more than 40%.
The measure occurs when the Trump administration increases the pressure on the pharmaceutical industry to reduce medication prices, and threatens to impose radical rates on imported pharmaceutical products to the United States.
The new effort of the companies would overlook traditional intermediaries, including pharmacy benefits managers and insurers, to reduce the monthly cost of the medication of a list price of around $ 606 to $ 346. As of September 8, patients without insurance, with insufficient insurance and self -ometry can buy the medicine directly from the Eliququis 360 support program, which will send their recipes directly to their homes.
But the discount price of Eliquis remains more than nine times the average monthly pocket cost of $ 38 paid by commercially insured patients. The price under the new program is also significantly higher than the price of $ 231 per month that Medicare negotiated under a provision of the Biden administration inflation reduction law. That negotiated price will enter into force next year.
The negotiated price is what Medicare will pay for Eliquis, and does not establish what Medicare patients will pay for the medicine now or in the future, Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer said in a joint statement. They added that the negotiated price does not reflect “the substantial clinical and economic value of this essential medicine.”
More than 90% of eliquis recipes in the US are currently covered through insurance. But Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer said that the new effort aims to expand access to treatment, reduce pocket costs for the patient and provide transparent prices for a different group of patients.
“This program passes more savings directly to patients and demonstrates our continuous approach in identifying innovative solutions that foster the best results for each individual while prioritizing access to care,” Bristol Myers Squibb CEO, Chris Boerner, told Bristol CEO.
In a note on Thursday, the Leadck Partners analyst, David Risinger, said he believes that the measure occurred in response to Trump's plan to reduce US drug costs by linking prices with those paid in other developed countries. The president signed an executive order on that plan in May.
Risinger said that medication manufacturers already offer strong reimbursements about Eliquis to pharmacy benefits managers, so the company does not expect the program to create a “net head wind” for Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer.
