Merck (NYSE: MRK) and South Korea's Samsung Bioepis said on Monday they have begun selling a less expensive alternative version of Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade in the United States, a move that should accelerate price declines for the big-selling medicine.
The U.S. and Korean drug makers said they would sell their version, to be called Renflexis, at 35% discount to the list price of J&J's top-selling medicine, or about $735 for a 100-milligram dose.
Renflexis is the second U.S. near-identical copy – or biosimilar -- of Remicade to be sold after Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) launched its Inflectra late last year at a 15% discount to J&J's list price, later dropped to a 19% discount.
Remicade had U.S. sales of $4.8 billion last year. They fell 8.2% for the first half of 2017 to $2.2 billion with the new competition.
As with generic medicines, once multiple biosimilars of a drug become available prices are expected to drop more quickly. Many industry executives and analysts have expressed surprise at how fast prices have fallen in Europe, which led the way with biosimilars.
Merck sells the branded version of Remicade outside the United States. In Europe, it is already facing competition from biosimilar Remicade and cheaper versions of other medicines in the class.
Merck’s stock moved ever-so-slightly upward, 12 cents, to greet the closing bell Monday at $62.75, while shares in Johnson & Johnson dropped $1.99, or 1.5%, to $133.32.
