In laying out their respective plans Monday to launch new direct-to-patient (DTP) platforms paring down the prices of popular medicines in the U.S., Novartis and Boehringer Ingelheim are falling in line with demands from President Donald Trump and joining the likes of AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb, both of which unveiled similar programs in recent days.
Novartis’ DTP platform follows closely in the footsteps of AstraZeneca’s and BMS’s, as it targets only eligible cash-pay patients in its offer of a hefty discount to immunology med Cosentyx.
The platform, which will launch on Nov. 1, will allow those U.S. patients prescribed Cosentyx to purchase it directly for 55% off its list price. As the wholesale cost is currently set around $7,936 for a month’s supply of self-injectable Cosentyx, the DTP discount should bring the price down to about $3,571 for cash-pay users of the platform.
Novartis noted in Monday’s announcement that the price cut will match “the average savings that insurers and pharmacy benefit managers receive.”
The company said it plans to expand its DTP offerings to include other drugs besides Cosentyx in the future, suggesting that the platform’s first iteration will serve as “proof-of-concept for a direct-selling model for specialty medicines” to improve affordability. It’s also exploring a direct-to-business model that would further cut out the middlemen of insurers and PBMs by selling certain meds directly to large employers.
“In the US, we have long recognized that we need new ways to reach patients more directly by removing barriers in the system,” Victor Bultó, Novartis’ U.S. president, said in the announcement. “The launch of this new platform is a first step as we continue to work toward solutions to provide our net prices more directly to patients and make the healthcare system work better for Americans.”
Boehringer’s take on the DTP model, meanwhile, reaches beyond the cash-pay population. The now-live Boehringer Ingelheim Access platform is set to offer direct home delivery of certain Boehringer meds—starting with its Spiriva Respimat inhalation spray for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—for a variety of payment types.
According to the platform’s FAQ section, once their healthcare provider has sent a valid electronic prescription to the service, eligible patients will be able to pay for their meds using insurance, FSA and HSA accounts, or their own credit or debit cards. Any available savings cards and “other affordability solutions” will be automatically applied, per Boehringer’s release, and shipping costs will be included.
For patients paying out-of-pocket, the platform offers a monthly price of $35 for Spiriva Respimat, compared to an average list price of more than $600.
The German pharma said it plans to add its full respiratory inhaler and diabetes portfolios to the Boehringer Ingelheim Access platform in the coming months.
The recent surge in Big Pharma DTP platforms comes as President Donald Trump has called on drugmakers to align U.S. drug prices with those of other developed nations, including by offering more direct-to-consumer and direct-to-business options.
In his demands that pharmas comply with his “Most Favored Nation” order to reduce domestic drug prices, Trump set a deadline of today, September 29, for their binding commitments to do so.