Celltrion’s High-Margin Products Successively Listed in Major U.S. PBM Formularies

Aptozma Listed as a Preferred Drug by ESI, CVS, and Optum

Stovoklo-Ocenbelt Secures Major Reimbursement Networks

Stronger Direct Sales Drive to Accelerate U.S. Growth in the Second Half

Celltrion’s portfolio of high-margin products has been successively listed in the formularies of major U.S. pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). As the foundation for prescription drug reimbursement expands for local patients, the company is expected to gain further growth momentum in the second half of the year.

On August 3, Celltrion announced that its autoimmune disease treatment "Aptozma" (ingredient: tocilizumab) has been listed as a preferred drug in the formularies of the U.S.’s three largest PBMs for private health insurance—Express Scripts (ESI), CVS Caremark (CVS), and Optum. Reimbursement for patients has been applied since the first quarter of this year for ESI and Optum, and since last month for CVS.

Celltrion Aptozma. Celltrion

After being listed in the public and private insurance formularies of Prime Therapeutics—a leading PBM—in December last year, Aptozma has now secured reimbursement coverage from all three major PBMs in about seven months. As a result, Aptozma appears to have secured reimbursement coverage for more than half of the entire U.S. insurance market.

Celltrion’s U.S. subsidiary is currently negotiating with another major PBM to include the subcutaneous (SC) formulation of Aptozma, scheduled for release this year, in their formulary. The company expects that the listing of the intravenous (IV) formulation in these three major PBM formularies will have a positive impact on the upcoming formulary negotiations for the SC version. Celltrion plans to further enhance performance through customized sales strategies for each channel, taking into account the IV formulation’s hospital-centered distribution and the SC formulation’s pharmacy-centered characteristics.

Another Celltrion product, “Stovoklo-Ocenbelt” (ingredient: denosumab), a treatment for bone disorders, has also been included as a preferred drug from the first quarter of this year in the public insurance formulary of ESI—one of the top three PBMs. Stovoklo-Ocenbelt was already listed in CVS’s private insurance and Optum’s public and private formularies from late last year through early this year. Since Ocenbelt was already included in ESI’s private insurance formulary, Stovoklo-Ocenbelt has effectively secured most of the coverage handled by the three largest PBMs in the U.S.

Celltrion also plans to target the open market for denosumab products in the U.S., which accounts for about 30% of the total market. By leveraging the increased product credibility gained through PBM reimbursement as well as its direct sales competitiveness centered on its local subsidiary, the company aims to boost growth for Stovoklo-Ocenbelt in the open market as well.

A Celltrion official said, “As we prepare for major events such as the launch of new products in the second half of the year, we expect the strong sales performance of our main products in the United States to continue.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.