by Katharina Wecker
BERLIN, March 27 (APM) - Merck Sharp & Dohme has decided not to compete on price with Remicade (infliximab) biosimilars in Germany after it signed a key contract to supply the branded product at a two-dose price around 20% above that of Celltrion's near-copy.
A purchasing body acting on behalf of Germany's statutory health insurers told APM it agreed a price of 1,904 euros for two doses of Remicade, while Celltrion/Mundipharma agreed to supply the same insurers with Remsima at 1,535 euros for two doses.
Celltrion’s German distributor Mundipharma and MSD are to supply Remsima and Remicade to a consortia of 42 statutory health insurers via their purchasing body GWQ Service Plus, GWQ spokesman Barthold Deiters told APM on Thursday.
While Hospira chose not to enter the ‘open discount contract’ with GWQ, Deiters said the arrangement offered insurer and branded company a good deal.
“The discount contract allows insurers to buy the ingredient infliximab cheaper but it also allows MSD to remain prominent with doctors and to secure their market share”, Deiters said.
Germany’s health insurer consortia is interested in Hospira joining the open contract but the pharma told APM on Wednesday it is working directly with “relevant authorities” in Germany to establish pricing for its Remicade copy Inflectra.
Hospira and Celltrion co-developed the Remicade biosimilars but have launched competitor copies in multiple markets including the EU.
Across Europe and elsewhere, the expectation is that biosimilars to monoclonal antibodies will only be used in new patients and switching from an originator to near-copy - especially at pharmacy level - will not take place.
GWQ confirmed this for the German market, saying it expects that Remsima will only be prescribed to new patients, in an earlier statement.
MSD refused to comment on the discount contract when contacted by APM by telephone.
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