Pfizer Inc. announced the introduction of Retacrit (epoetin alfa-epbx) injection, the first available biosimilar to Procrit (epoetin alfa) and Epogen (epoetin alfa) in the U.S, at a substantial discount.
Pfizer began shipment of Retacrit to wholesalers in the U.S. on Nov. 12.
Retacrit will be introduced at a Wholesale Acquisition Cost of $11.03 per 1,000 units/mL, which is 57.1 percent below the WAC of Procrit (epoetin alfa) [$25.72 per 1,000 units/mL] and 33.5 percent below the WAC of Epogen (epoetin alfa) [$16.58 per 1,000 units/mL], its reference product.
WAC is not inclusive of discounts to payers, providers, distributors and other purchasing organizations.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has granted two unique assigned Q codes for Retacrit: Q5105 for End-Stage Renal Disease on dialysis and Q5106 for non-ESRD.
Additionally, Retacrit qualifies for pass-through status under the hospital outpatient prospective payment system.
Retacrit is Pfizer’s third available biosimilar in the U.S. Pfizer also has an extensive biosimilars pipeline, including three biosimilars products currently accepted for review by the FDA. Pfizer has entered into an agreement with Vifor Pharma Inc. for the commercialization of Retacrit in certain channels.
Leadership is changing at The Wistar Institute and the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute in the months to come—but the leaders of the two institutions say that this will have little if any effect on the clinical-research collaboration that they have spent the past 15years building (The Cancer Letter, July 12, 2019).
