Competition Coming for AbbVie’s Blockbuster
It’s among the prohibitively expensive biologic pharmaceuticals being replaced by cheaper “biosimilar” copycats
Worldwide sales of Humira have totaled $200 billion in the last 20 years—just about the biggest haul in the history of prescription drugs. The bonanza was predicated on charging as much as $84,000 for a
year’s supply.
But price relief is on the way for patients who need Humira, a product made by AbbVie (ABBV) to combat conditions ranging from arthritis and psoriasis to Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
They won’t be paying as much for their medication because Humira belongs to a class of high-priced pharmaceuticals known as biologics, which drug companies are replacing with cheaper substitutes.
The...
