(Reuters) – Biogen Idec Inc is pricing its newly-approved long-acting hemophilia drug to cost U.S. patients, and insurers, about the same per year as older, less convenient therapies whose price can reach about $300,000 annually.
The move could pressure rivals such as Pfizer Inc to lower prices for existing hemophilia treatments, which provide patients with life-saving infusions of a blood clotting agent, according to doctors and industry analysts.
Biogen last month won U.S. and Canadian approval for Alprolix to treat hemophilia B, the more rare form of the condition that affects about 4,000 people in the United States and about 25,000 worldwide.
The company is awaiting a decision on another drug to treat hemophilia A, a more common form of the disease, expected to come in the next few months.
“We think we have priced (Alprolix) to create parity with existing therapies on an annual cost of therapy basis,†Tony Kingsley, Biogen’s head of global commercial operations, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Biogen set a price for Alprolix of $2.85 per international unit. That is more than double the price of about $1.19 per unit for Pfizer’s Benefix, one of the most widely-used treatments for the disorder. Other approved older hemophilia B products include Rixubis from Baxter International Inc and Mononine from CSL Behring.
But while current drugs are typically needed about two to three times a week, Alprolix is taken once a week or every 10 days, Biogen said. The total annual cost can vary widely based on a patient’s weight, the severity of their clotting deficiency and other factors.
“We think it’s a meaningful advance in a market that hasn’t seen a significant advance in a decade and a half,†said Kingsley, adding that Alprolix should be available to patients early next month.
PRICE SCRUTINY
Drug pricing in the U.S. market has come under new scrutiny as state governments and health insurers balk over the $84,000 cost of a new hepatitis C drug from Gilead Sciences Inc. Treating two-thirds of the estimated 3.2 million U.S. hepatitis C patients with the drug could top $200 billion, according to some analysts.
The Biogen hemophilia drug targets a relatively minuscule patient population. But the U.S. biotechnology company, and its peers including Gilead, have seen their shares drop sharply in recent weeks as investors question how much they will be able to charge for novel medicines in the future.
Kingsley said Biogen was conducting formal discussions with health insurance companies and other payers on reimbursement for Alprolix and the methodology it used to determine the cost.
“We anticipate that we will get reimbursement and coverage from payers for Alprolix,†he said. “We don’t foresee any unusual barriers on that front.â€
Hemophilia is a hereditary disorder that prevents blood from clotting properly due to lack of a clotting factor protein in the blood. Patients with more severe hemophilia require larger and more frequent doses of blood clotting factors. Worldwide, about one in 5,000 men are born with hemophilia A and one in 25,000 men are born with hemophilia B each year.
Denmark’s Novo Nordisk is also developing a long-acting treatment for hemophilia B, and expects to file next year for regulatory approval. Deutsche Bank estimates that Biogen’s hemophilia products can reach annual sales of $1.2 billion by 2017.
Alprolix is a bioengineered version of the blood coagulation protein known as factor IX, which is needed for normal blood clotting. If not properly treated, hemophilia can lead to bleeding into joints and muscles that can cause stiffness, pain, severe joint damage, disability, and death.
Biogen developed the drug in partnership with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum ABN.
(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Michele Gershberg, Bernard Orr)