Coherus Biosciences Joins Forces With Mark Cuban’s Online Pharmacy for Humira Biosimilar
Yusimry (adalimumab-aqvh) is 1 of 9 FDA-approved adalimumab biosimilars and is a low-concentration, citrate-free product.
After SharkTank’s Mark Cuban teased that his online pharmacy (Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company) would eventually add biosimilars to its list of low-cost drugs in February, Coherus Biosciences announced1 that it will join forces with Cuban’s company to make an biosimilar referencing Humira (adalimumab) available to patients at an affordable price.
The biosimilar, Yusimry (adalimumab-aqvh), was approved in December 2021 and is projected to launch in July 2023. It is 1 of 9 FDA-approved adalimumab biosimilars and is a low-concentration, citrate-free product. It is a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor indicated for rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa.
“We believe there is a large, unmet need for improved access and affordability for patients in the U.S. health care system that together Cost Plus Drugs and Yusimry can help address…. This agreement is part of our biosimilar strategy to leverage our excellence in manufacturing and supply chain management to deliver safe and effective biosimilars with ensured, reliable supply,” commented Denny Lanfear, CEO of Coherus.
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (Cost Plus Drugs) will offer Yusimry to customers at $569.27 plus dispensing and shipping fees beginning in July 2023. The biosimilar will be available with an autoinjector presentation featuring a 29-gauge needle.
Yusimry will also be included in the Team Cuban Card prescription benefit program through participating pharmacies. The Team Cuban Card allows for patients to obtain their prescriptions from a local independent pharmacy at the same price they would get at Cost Plus Drugs. The program also provides the independent pharmacy community with reasonable dispensing fees and a transparent pricing structure.
“Cost Plus Drugs is saving patients hundreds and thousands of dollars a month by pricing our medications fairly at our cost plus 15%.... Adding Yusimry, a biosimilar of Humira, to Cost Plus Drugs will extend these savings to biologics. This is just our first step in making biologics affordable for patients,” said Cuban.
Cuban is best known as an investor on ABC’s Shark Tank as well as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. He started his career as an entrepreneur by creating MicroSolutions, a computer consulting service, which he sold in 1990 for $6 million. He announced the launch of his online pharmacy in January 2022.
Cuban spoke at the Association for Accessible Medicines (Access 2023) as part of a fireside chat in February 2023, where he talked about why he chose to develop an online pharmacy that specializes in low-cost medicines and acts as a disruptor to big pharmaceutical wholesale manufacturers. During the talk, he said that while Cost Plus Drugs only carried generic medications at the time, he wasn’t going to rule out adding biosimilar options down the road.
“Humira is the top-selling medicine of all time, but for those without insurance or who are underinsured, this therapy and other biologic medicines have been out of reach due to price,”. said Alex Oshmyansky, co-founder and CEO of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, in a statement from Coherus.
This article originally appeared on AJMC.
