With its Allergan merger likely in the final stages, AbbVie is placing its hopes in a pair of home-grown drugs to help weather biosimilar attacks against Humira. One of those, JAK inhibitor Rinvoq, just snagged a big win from England’s cost watchdog.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended AbbVie’s Rinvoq, added to standard-of-care methotrexate, for coverage on the National Health Service as a treatment for severe rheumatoid arthritis, according to draft guidance published Friday.
Rinvoq, with a list price of £805.56 ($1,058.06) per 28-day pack and average annual cost per patient of £10,508 ($13,801), will come with a confidential discount, NICE said.
Despite the win in severe RA, though, NICE knocked down Rinvoq’s application to treat moderate RA, arguing the drug’s price didn’t hit its cost-effectiveness standard in that indication.
The NICE win for Rinvoq comes as the drug has emerged as somewhat of a physician darling in its few months on the U.S. market.
In December, a rheumatologist survey conducted by Spherix Global Insights showed about half of 100 physicians would prescribe Rinvoq over other JAK inhibitors, specifically citing AbbVie’s “stewardship” of the drug as a positive for prescribing, Piper analyst Christopher Raymond said in a note to investors.
Part of the reason for that confidence? A “famous AbbVie halo,” Raymond wrote, that has given some rheumatologists confidence in prescribing the drug despite Pfizer’s JAK med Xeljanz having a seven-year head start in the field.
Among the rheumatologists surveyed, 33% said they would be “early adopters” of Rinvoq solely because of AbbVie’s involvement, Raymond said. The drugmaker has also put big marketing resources behind Rinvoq, Raymond said, with a full-court press similar to its Humira efforts and marketing penetration far outpacing other JAK brands.
