As one of Boehringer Ingelheim's asthma competitors catches scrutiny over pricing and access concerns, the company itself is taking steps to cut patient costs in the U.S.
The German drugmaker will cap patients' out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month for all of its inhaler products, including Atrovent, Combivent, Striverdi, Stiolto and its Sprivia products, many of which use the company’s Respimat inhaler device.
“The U.S. healthcare system is complex and often doesn’t work for patients, especially the most vulnerable," Jean-Michel Boers, CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim USA, said in a release. “While we can’t fix the entire system alone, we are bringing forward a solution to make it fairer.”
The new program should help out patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through “predicable” and affordable costs at the pharmacy, Boers added.
Under the program, Boehringer said it'll cut certain list prices and "continue providing significant discounts and rebates" to insurers and other parties in the healthcare system.
The decision comes after many years of attention to pricing and access in the U.S. inhaler market.
Just recently, BI's fellow inhaler maker GSK was slammed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D-Mass), for an alleged “shameful money grab" related to its decision to discontinue the branded Flovent inhaler in favor of an authorized generic.
In a letter to GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, Sen. Warren said the authorized generic is sold at an “artificially inflated price” that presents an access issue for millions of children as the allergy season approaches.
GSK, for its part, argues that its partner Prasco is in charge of price-setting for the generic.
Despite its recent pricing move, Boehringer Ingelheim has found itself in the hot seat over inhaler pricing at times.
In January, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee launched a probe into what the senators called “outrageous” prices on inhalers from Boehringer, GSK, AstraZeneca and Teva. At the time, Boehringer's Combivent Respimat carried a $489 list price in the U.S., compared with $7 in France.
With Boehringer’s new price announcement, HELP committee head Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, said he's “very pleased” with the “important progress."
“These are very positive steps in the right direction,” Sanders said in a statement.
Now, the senator is pressing Boehringer’s peers AZ, GSK and Teva to follow in its footsteps.
“If Boehringer Ingelheim can take action to cap the cost of inhalers at $35 in the United States and lower the list price of some of the inhalers it manufactures, these other companies can do the same,” Sanders said.
The company’s new $35 out-of-pocket cap will take effect at retail pharmacies on June 1.