Celltrion to sell autoimmune drug Stelara biosimilar at Costco in US

South Korea’s leading biosimilar drug developer Celltrion Inc. said on Monday it is set to sell Steqeyma, a biosimilar to autoimmune disease treatment Stelara launched two weeks ago, at US retail giant Costco to bite into the original drug’s share in the world’s top medical market.

Celltrion inked a listing agreement for Steqeyma with Costco Health Solutions, the retailer’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM).

PBMs, which play a critical role in US pharmaceutical distribution, design and administrate cost-effective prescription drug plans on behalf of clients. They negotiate with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of insurers and select drugs for inclusion in formularies.

Celltrion said the deal makes Steqeyma available to PBM subscribers and Cosco employees through their insurance coverage at the big-box retailer’s in-store pharmacies across the US.

PREFERRED DRUG

Steqeyma has been listed as a preferred drug in the agreement, which Celltrion believes paves the way to expand its market share in the United States. A preferred drug often has priority over competitors.

“The agreement will remove the original from formularies, which is expected to increase prescriptions of Steqeyma and help it take over the original's market share,” Celltrion said in a statement.

Steqeyma is a biosimilar referencing Janssen Biotech Inc.’s Stelara, a prescription medicine a prescription medication used to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis in adults and some children.

Celltrion USA Inc. launched the biosimilar on March 12 at a wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) list price that represents an 85% discount to the current WAC list price of Stelara to attract a variety of customers, including smaller PBMs and uninsured patients.

The company aims to accelerate discussion with other PBMs for Steqeyma listings, including one of the top three players in the US, with which it is in the final stages of an agreement.

Write to Dae-Kyu Ahn at powrzanic@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.