Evio Announces Groundbreaking Direct Purchase Agreement for Adalimumab Biosimilar

DENVER, Oct. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Evio Pharmacy Solutions, a Blues-founded company focused on transformational solutions in the high-cost medication space, today announced the successful negotiation and implementation of an innovative direct purchase agreement with Fresenius Kabi, an operating company of Fresenius, for Adalimumab-aacf — a lower priced biosimilar version of Humira. Humira is one of the most widely prescribed and, at more than $12 billion annually, the highest revenue producing medication in the United States. This landmark direct purchase agreement creates a transparent, alternative business model that makes a highly effective treatment accessible to Evio owner health plans and their members at a lower cost.

Biosimilars are low-cost biologic medications highly similar to an already approved reference product. They have been rigorously tested and have demonstrated the same clinical benefit and safety as the original product. The Adalimumab-aacf biosimilar, used to treat a variety of chronic inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease, has undergone thorough evaluation of a comprehensive data package including analytical, pre-clinical, clinical and manufacturing data and earned regulatory approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Despite the clear clinical and economic benefits of biosimilar adoption, a complex pharmacy value chain can create barriers and misaligned incentives for uptake of lower cost treatments. Evio has implemented an alternative payment model that eliminates traditional rebate strategies and transparently aligns incentives between health plans and manufacturers to unlock the value of biosimilars.

Evio's unique model can be applied to biosimilars that are either self-administered or administered by a provider, and Evio is actively partnering with pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacies that share the same aspiration to reduce costs and complexity in the system. Evio conducted a broad request for proposal (RFP) process with Adalimumab biosimilar manufacturers, and Evio owner health plans will be able to deliver Fresenius Kabi's low-priced Adalimumab-aacf starting January 1, 2025.

"Evio distinctly enabled this industry-shaping arrangement," said Hank Schlissberg, CEO of Evio. "First, the size, density, and prominence of Evio's customers offers just the right scale to make a real difference. Additionally, we have a unique relationship with our owner customers who offer extensive feedback on solutions designed to serve their members and shape the future of pharmacy. We know before we start that we are creating solutions and partnerships that meet their needs. And, we've invested heavily in hiring some of the most experienced and innovative talent in the industry. Their creative minds and relentless effort brought this concept to fruition."

"This agreement will have transformational economic impact for Evio customer health plans and their members," said Matt Seibt, Head of Pharmaceutical Partnerships at Evio, who led the strategy and negotiations. "Evio is perfectly positioned to play an integral role in the adoption of biosimilars and given the coming biosimilar wave, we are actively working on similar arrangements for a number of biosimilars in the pipeline."

This announcement is an integral milestone that complements Evio's other work, and the innovative work of its owner health plans, to achieve its vision. Alongside these and other innovative pharmaceutical contracting efforts, Evio is delivering robust real-world evidence analytics with patient-level insights, and a suite of digital tools to transform pharmacy for every stakeholder in the pharmacy value chain.

About Evio

Evio Pharmacy Solutions is an independent pharmacy solutions company that works with health plans to transform the medication experience for everyone: patients, providers, employers, and the system at large. Using real-world evidence analytics, value-based contracts with pharmaceutical manufacturers, and complete transparency, Evio's vision is for every patient to have access to the right medication for their unique situation, from the beginning, in a simple and affordable way. Evio is an independent company owned by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Shield of California, Highmark Inc., and Independence Blue Cross, who in total provide services to more than 20 million members. www.evio.com

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SOURCE Evio Pharmacy Solutions