In the latest controversy over drug pricing, an organization said that the price of GlaxoSmithKline’s Nucala (mepolizumab), an injectable indicated for severe asthma patients with eosinophilic inflammation, is far over-priced.
In the latest controversy over drug pricing, an organization said that the price of GlaxoSmithKline’s Nucala (mepolizumab), an injectable indicated for severe asthma patients with eosinophilic inflammation, is far over-priced.
Related: FDA warns consumers about OTC homeopathic asthma treatments
In a new report, The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) found that Nucala’s annual price would need to be discounted 63% to 76% to “be better aligned with value to patients and the health system”, according to a statement from the organization.
Related:Americans want drug pricing reform
Nucala, which received FDA approval in November, is available for administration in a doctor's office for $32,500 a year.
"Understanding the value of new drugs is critical," said Steven D. Pearson, MD, the founder and president of ICER. "By bringing our scientific approach to evaluating the effectiveness and value of new drugs, we are aiming to help the health care community determine what should be used, which patients benefit most, and at what price innovative treatments represent a reasonable value."
GlaxoSmithKline has not responded to the report.
Approximately 22 million US residents have asthma and approximately 5% to 10% of them have severe forms of the disease, according to ICER. Those with severe asthma are responsible for half of the estimated $50 billion that is spent on direct medical care for asthma each year.
The recent ICER reports provide analyses of the clinical effectiveness, long-term cost-effectiveness, and potential budget impact of Nucala as well as the insulin Tresiba (degludec). “The results of these analyses are used to calculate a value-based price benchmark for each intervention. These price benchmarks reflect estimates of how much better the interventions are at improving patient outcomes, tempered by thresholds at which additional new costs would contribute to growth in healthcare costs exceeding growth in the overall national economy,” according to an ICER statement.
Both reports will be subject to a public meeting of the California Technology Assessment Forum on February 12, 2016.
FDA Approves Two More Denosumab Biosimilars, Conexxence and Bomyntra
March 27th 2025The fourth pair of denosumab biosimilars, Conexxence and Bomyntra, are expected to launch in the United States in mid 2025, as a result of a global settlement with Amgen, according to a company news release.
Read More
FDA Approves First Drug for Excess Hunger in Prader-Willi Syndrome
March 27th 2025Vykat XR will be available in April to treat the intense hunger that is a hallmark of the rare genetic disease Prader-Willi syndrome. The price is based on a patient’s weight, and the average patient in the clinical trials would have had an average annual cost of $466,200 for the first year.
Read More
FDA Approves Amvuttra for ATTR-CM in Extended Label
March 21st 2025This expanded indication for Amvuttra makes it the first and only FDA-approved treatment for transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) and the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (hATTR-PN) in adults.
Read More