Wyeth Stands Its Ground, Avoids Premarin Discounts Under Part D
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Premarin is discounted roughly 2% for Part D enrollees at the retail pharmacy level, compared to an average drug discount of 35%, PCMA says.
|
Wyeth's Premarin is associated with the least amount of price discounting for Medicare Rx drug plan enrollees at the retail pharmacy level, compared with 12 other brands frequently used by seniors, according to the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. Released Feb. 7, a PCMA analysis shows the hormone replacement therapy product to cost $34.25 per .625 mcg unit under the PDP "average negotiated retail pharmacy price." The drug's average retail pharmacy cash price, by contrast, is $35.05. Thus, PDPs' pharmacy benefit manager negotiations with Wyeth are responsible for roughly 2% in savings, the data suggest. Premarin is discounted more heavily when obtained from mail-order pharmacies, PCMA notes. Under that scenario, the PDP average negotiated price is $30.16, yielding a 14% cut from the average cash price at the register. PCMA's findings, overall, demonstrate a 35% average discount on Rx drugs purchased at retail pharmacies under the Medicare Part D benefit and a 46% discount for those drugs when purchased through mail-order. Across the 13 brand drugs featured in the analysis, Medicare's average savings range from 18% at retail drug stores to 26% at mail-order pharmacies. Taking the top 25 drugs (brand and generic) identified by a 2004 Lewin Group report as popular among seniors, PCMA searched for PDP drug prices in the New York region. For that task, PCMA used Medicare's online Prescription Drug Plan Finder. The organization culled drug price data from five PDPs, all member companies: UnitedHealth; Medco; Caremark; WellPoint; and Pacificare. UnitedHealth and Pacificare completed their merger in December. PCMA then compared those PDP negotiated drug prices with retail pharmacy cash prices displayed on the New York Attorney General's website. In the case of Premarin, PCMA had to consult the Ohio Attorney General's website, as the drug information was not available on the New York AG's. Wyeth's strong price positioning comes despite the downturn in the hormone therapy since 2002. That year, a Women's Health Initiative study found increased cardiovascular events and breast cancer risks linked to Wyeth's Prempro , a combo hormone replacement drug in the Premarin family. The products subsequently faced greater scientific, public and regulatory scrutiny. Among the 13 brands examined by PCMA, AstraZeneca's Toprol-XL is treated to the greatest discount under Part D, according to the PDP average negotiated retail pharmacy price: 34%. The average retail pharmacy cash price, according to the Florida Attorney General, is $37.03. In the mail-order setting, the beta-blocker is associated with a 43% discount. For both types of purchase, the dosing unit is 50 mg. AstraZeneca has listed Toprol-XL as part of a "portfolio approach" - including drugs such as Seroquel , Nexium and Crestor - the firm used to present as an "attractive package" and thus gain favorable formulary placement in negotiations with PDPs (1 (Also see "Part D Formulary Negotiations Take “Portfolio Approach” For AstraZeneca" - Pink Sheet, 27 Oct, 2005.)). - Sunil Iyengar |