Young Research & Publishing Inc.

Investment Research Since 1978

Disclosure

  • About Us
    • Contributors
    • Archives
    • Dick Young’s Safe America
    • The Final Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
    • Dick Young’s Research Key: Anecdotal Evidence Gathering
    • Crisis at Vanguard
  • Investment Analysis
    • Bonds
    • Currencies and Gold
    • Dividend Investing
    • ETFs & Funds
    • Investment Strategy
    • Retirement Investing
    • Stocks
    • The Efficient Frontier
  • Investment Counsel
  • Retirement Compounders®
  • Free Email Signup

Who’s Going to Win When the Highest Grossing Drug Ever Loses Its Patent?

November 28, 2022 By Jeremy Jones, CFA

By Tero Vesalainen @ Shutterstock.com

According to David Wainer, writing in The Wall Street Journal, when the patent on AbbVie’s drug, Humira, expires next year, there’s going to be a big winner, but it may not be the consumer. He writes:

Starting next year the highest-grossing drug of all time, AbbVie increase; green up pointing triangle‘s Humira, will finally face competition from copycat biologics in the U.S.

Yet the makers of the complex generics known as biosimilars won’t necessarily be the biggest winners. The top beneficiaries could instead be the middlemen such as Cigna decrease; red down pointing triangle and CVS Health decrease; red down pointing triangle, which will negotiate and dispense the drugs to patients.

AbbVie’s Humira—a drug used to treat diseases from rheumatoid arthritis to gut disorders—has raked in about $200 billion over its lifetime and is on pace to bring in more than $21 billion this year alone, according to data from Visible Alpha. While biosimilars have been available in Europe since 2018, a thicket of patents has shielded Humira from competition in the U.S. until 2023, when companies including Amgen and Teva Pharmaceutical TEVA -2.37%decrease; red down pointing triangle will begin rolling out versions of the medication.

While manufacturing biosimilars will be a big opportunity for other drug companies, the Food and Drug Administration has approved seven versions of the drug, meaning there will be  pressure on margins as companies compete to grab a slice of the blockbuster. AbbVie itself will continue making money from Humira for several years, with annual revenue for the drug exceeding $4 billion until 2026, according to data from FactSet.

The competition between biosimilar makers will benefit the U.S. consumer and taxpayer as bills start coming down for the drug. Specialty drug costs, including Humira, represent 2% of prescriptions, yet account for 50% of drug spending, according to UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx. Potential savings related to biosimilars could exceed $100 billion over the next five years, it said.

But the savings will also benefit pharmacy-benefit managers, or PBMs, such as Optum Rx, Cigna’s Evernorth/Express Scripts, and CVS’s Caremark, which negotiate those discounts and then provide the medication to patients through specialty pharmacies.

Read more here.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

You Might Also Like:

  • UK Authorizes Use of COVID Treatment Drug Molnupiravir
  • You Invest They Win, AGAIN
  • “Pretty Remarkable”: Trial Results for New Cancer Drug
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Jeremy Jones, CFA
Jeremy Jones, CFA, CFP® is the Director of Research at Young Research & Publishing Inc., and the Chief Investment Officer at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. CNBC has ranked Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. as one of the Top 100 Financial Advisors in the nation (2019-2022) Disclosure. Jeremy is also a contributing editor of youngresearch.com.
Latest posts by Jeremy Jones, CFA (see all)
  • Money Market Assets Hit Record High: $5.4 Trillion - May 26, 2023
  • The Mania in AI Stocks Has Arrived - May 25, 2023
  • The Wisdom of Sam Zell - May 24, 2023

Search Young Research

Most Popular

  • Your Survival Guy Felt Like a U.N. Worker in Rome
  • The Mania in AI Stocks Has Arrived
  • Money Market Assets Hit Record High: $5.4 Trillion
  • Your Survival Guy in Rome 30-Years A.B. (After Babson)
  • The Future of the American City is This…
  • Vanguard Wellesley (VWINX) vs. Wellington (VWELX): Which Fund is Best?
  • A Three-Week International Research Trip to Paris via Rome
  • Is an Investment Property Disaster Looming?
  • Letter to the Federal Reserve Chairman from Your Survival Guy
  • The Power of a Compound Interest Table

Don’t Miss

Default Risk Among the Many Concerns with Annuities

Risk and Reward: An Efficient Frontier

How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth

Cryptocosm and Life After Google

Warning: Avoid Mutual Fund Year End Distributions

Is Gold a Good Long-term Investment?

How to Invest in Gold

Vanguard Wellington (VWELX): The Original Balanced Fund

What is the Best Gold ETF for Investing and Trading?

Procter & Gamble (PG) Stock: The Only True Dividend King

The Dividend King of the North

You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life

The Importance of a Balanced Portfolio

Invest with Peace of Mind and Comfort

What Kind of Life Are You Investing For?

RSS The Latest at Richardcyoung.com

  • Rewarding Loyalty with Ridicule
  • Rome, Paris, U.S.A.: Global Crisis in Confidence
  • June Is Retirement Compounders Month
  • Americans Scared of CBDC Control of Their Money
  • Your Survival Guy’s Best Insider’s Guide to Rome
  • Auto Profitability Colliding with Low Emissions
  • Birth Rates in France Worst Since Post-WWII Era
  • What Binds the Woke Left Together?
  • Joel Salatin and Alfie Oakes, America’s Food Kings
  • The Party Is Going Off the Rails

RSS The Latest at Yoursurvivalguy.com

  • Rome, Paris, U.S.A.: Global Crisis in Confidence
  • Your Survival Guy’s Best Insider’s Guide to Rome
  • What Is a Fiduciary Duty? Are You Working with a Fiduciary?
  • Survive and Thrive June 2023: Your Survival Guy in Rome 30-Years A.B. (After Babson)
  • Birth Rates in France Worst Since Post-WWII Era
  • Your Survival Guy Felt Like a U.N. Worker in Rome
  • Social Security: Declining Italy Needs a Bambino Boom
  • ATTACK ON THE IVAN KHURS: Unmanned Vessels Changing Naval Warfare
  • The Future of the American City is This…
  • Happy Memorial Day: Your Survival Guy: Proud To Be an American

About Us

  • About Young Research
  • Archives
  • Contributors

Our Partners

  • Richard C. Young & Co.
  • Richardcyoung.com

Copyright © 2023 | Terms & Conditions

 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.