How did Humira's pricing in the US compare with Europe?
Once biosimilars launched in Europe in October 2018, AbbVie cut Humira's price there by up to 80% — while maintaining high US prices and settling with biosimilar makers to delay US entry until 2023, more than four years after European competition began.
The difference became stark once biosimilars launched in Europe in October 2018. AbbVie responded by cutting Humira's price by as much as 80% in Europe, while saying it was not losing money at that level. In the US, AbbVie had settled patent litigation with eight biosimilar makers, all agreeing to US entry dates in 2023, more than four years after European competition began.
Within four months of European launch, biosimilars had captured about 15% of the European market and branded Humira sales there had fallen by more than 25%. Axios estimated Americans would pay far more for the identical drug over the following five years. Humira represented more than 60% of AbbVie's revenue at the time.