CVS Health to Produce Lower-Cost ‘Biosimilar’ Medicines

CVS Health is set to establish Cordavis, a subsidiary unit aimed at partnering with pharmaceutical companies to develop biosimilar products, which are essentially replicas of already approved drugs. The primary objective of this unit is to introduce FDA-approved biosimilar products to the U.S. market, potentially revolutionizing the way consumers purchase medications by fostering competition and reducing prices.

This subsidiary does not reinvent the wheel with new drugs. All manufactured biosimilar products are very similar to an already approved biologic drug, but are tested and approved to ensure that they are highly comparable in terms of safety, efficacy, and quality. If generics are Kirkland brand drugs—an identical product made cheaper by patent expiration—biosimilars are more like Amazon Basics: cheaper, legally distinct, but functionally similar to what they imitate. CVS claims that Cordavis will “help ensure a consistent long-term supply of affordable biosimilars” when it officially debuts in early 2024.

The first confirmed Cordavis offering in the near future is Hyrimo, a biosimilar to Humira. Humira is an injectable drug used to treat a number of conditions in adults, including Crohn’s and rheumatoid arthritis. The drug is a popular prescription whose maker, AbbVie, reported $3.5 billion in net revenue from global sales in the second quarter of 2023. With a list price of nearly $7,000 per month, it’s a top-of-the-line drug worth diluting in the competitive drug world. Cordavis says its biosimilar to Humira will be listed under a new private label and will be 80 percent cheaper than the drug’s current list price. This early offering provides only a snapshot of the impact Cordavis can have on disruptions in the pharmaceutical manufacturing space.