(Reuters) -CVS Health Corp said on Wednesday it has launched Cordavis, a unit that will work directly with manufacturers to commercialize and co-produce biosimilars for the U.S. market.
The company will also launch biosimilar Hyrimoz with Swiss drugmaker Novartis’ Sandoz from next year at a list price that is more than 80% lower to AbbVie’s blockbuster arthritis drug Humira.
Lawmakers and the Federal Trade Commission have been investigating the role of pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), which negotiate drug prices with manufacturers, in rising healthcare costs this year.
CVS’ unit Caremark, one of the largest in the U.S., has also been under scrutiny.Humira, which has a list price of $6,922 per month in the U.S., has not seen a significant decline in cost despite the market entry of eight biosimilars.
(Reporting by Leroy Leo and Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
