CVS Health is dropping two popular brand-name drugs in exchange for biosimilars of lower cost in an effort to curb prescription drug expenses, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Caremark, CVS's administer of prescription coverage for employers and insurers, will no longer cover Sanofi's Lantus — insulin used to treat diabetes — and Amgen's Neupogen — used to prevent cancer treatment-related infections. At CVS, Lantus costs about $270 per vial and Neupogen costs about $350 per dose, according to GoodRx.
The change will mostly affect commercial employer and labor union members who subscribe to CVS's standard covered drugs.
Troyen Brennan, MD, CMO of CVS, told The Wall Street Journal the company wants to indicate the move toward cheaper biotech replicas is real. Dr. Brennan said biosimilars are usually 10 percent to 15 percent less than brand-name drugs, but CVS has negotiated further discounts.
CVS ended coverage on Pfizer's anti-impotence drug Viagra last year for its cheaper counterpart Eli Lilly's Cialis, and it said coverage for an additional 35 products will be dropped in 2017, including Novartis' cancer drugs Gleevec and Tasigna.
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