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Amgen reduces price of all evolocumab devices by 60%
Amgen announced that it has reduced the price of all evolocumab device options to treat patients with high cholesterol who are at increased risk for MIs and strokes by 60%.
This price reduction, which brought the price down to $5,850 per year, affects device options such as the prefilled syringe and an on-body infusor with a prefilled cartridge (Pushtronex, Amgen), according to a press release from the company.
“Every 40 seconds someone in America has a heart attack or stroke, making cardiovascular disease one of the country’s most significant health challenges,” Murdo Gordon, executive vice president of global commercial operations at Amgen, said in the press release. “Repatha can help to address this significant public health issue, which is why we are working hard to improve patient affordability by lowering Repatha’s list price to improve patient copays, especially for Medicare patients.”
As Cardiology Today previously reported, Amgen reduced the list price of evolocumab in October to $5,850 per year.
“The lower list price announced in October has been received very positively by patients, physicians and payers, and we are already seeing a noticeable impact for patients,” Gordon said in the press release. “However, more must be done to help more patients get to a low, fixed copay. We need continued engagement from all stakeholders — from health care professionals to payers to plans and to government agencies — to help ensure patients benefit from the lower list price to reduce their out-of-pocket costs.”
As a result of the previous price reduction, 80% of Medicare patients who are treated with evolocumab have access to the treatment at the reduced price through their plans, according to the press release.
Physicians and patients can contact the RepathaReady program to learn more about these price changes and any questions regarding the medicines, according to the press release.
“Various barriers to PCSK9 inhibitors have prevented appropriate patients from receiving these invaluable medications since their 2015 approval,” Seth J. Baum, MD, FACC, FACPM, FAHA, FNLA, FASPC, chief medical officer of Excel Medical Clinical Trials, clinical affiliate professor of biomedical science at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and immediate past president of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, told Cardiology Today. “Amgen’s new price structure directly helps patients by lowering their copays. This is most important for Medicare recipients and should have a major impact on their receiving and remaining on evolocumab. Payers no longer have an excuse for limiting access; the ball is in their court.” – by Darlene Dobkowski
For more information:
Seth J. Baum, MD, FACC, FACPM, FAHA, FNLA, FASPC, can be reached at 7900 Glades Road, #400, Boca Raton, FL 33434; email: sjbaum@fpim.org; Twitter: @sethjbaummd.
Disclosures: Gordon is an employee of Amgen. Baum reports he has consulted and served on scientific advisory boards for Amgen, Regeneron and Sanofi and has performed clinical research for alirocumab and evolocumab.