20 prescription drugs on Colorado’s affordability radar
DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado board created to review prescription drug prices is headed to court after it moved to cap the price of arthritis medication Enbrel — and it’s not the only drug on the board’s radar.
Pharmaceutical company Amgen filed a federal lawsuit last week against the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which in February declared Enbrel unaffordable. The drugmaker argues the move was unconstitutional and violates commerce and patent laws.
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Enbrel is not the first prescription drug that went under review, and it will not be the last. The board has also found that two other drugs — the HIV treatment Genvoya and the cystic fibrosis drug Trikafta — were not unaffordable. Next up for review are Cosentyx, for psoriasis, and Stelara, for Crohn’s disease.
What other drugs could be under the microscope next?
Top 20 drugs on Colorado drug affordability board’s list
The board’s most recent report from October listed 604 drugs eligible for an affordability review. Some 244 were prioritized on a weighted scale based on the number of patients, the change in wholesale acquisition cost, patient out-of-pocket cost, total paid and average paid per person per year.
The list is neither binding nor required by law and is instead “meant to be a tool to present data and spark discussion,” according to the board.
Here are the top 20 listed:
Brand Name | Strength | Dosage Form | Patient Out-of-Pocket Cost |
Humira | 40 mg/0.4 mL | Pen injector kit | $2,982 |
Trikafta | 100 mg-50 mg-75 mg (day)/150 mg (night) | Tablet sequential | $1,732 |
Enbrel | 50 mg/mL (1 mL) | Pen injector | $2,812 |
Stelara | 90 mg/mL | Syringe | $1,399 |
Humira | 40 mg/0.4 mL | Syringe kit | $2,556 |
Genvoya | 150 mg-150 mg-200 mg-10 mg | Tablet | $1,293 |
Aubagio | 14 mg | Tablet | $4,207 |
Gilenya | 0.5 mg | Capsule | $3,367 |
Xtandi | 40 mg | Capsule | $3,078 |
Revlimid | 10 mg | Capsule | $3,232 |
Imbruvica | 420 mg | Tablet | $3,308 |
Enbrel | 50 mg/mL (1 mL) | Syringe | $2,709 |
Cosentyx | 150 mg/mL | Pen injector | $2,168 |
Takhzyro | 300 mg/2 mL (150 mg/mL) | Vial | $4,999 |
Ibrance | 125 mg | Tablet | $1,862 |
Opdivo | 240 mg/24 mL | Vial | $1,001 |
Norditropin | 15 mg/1.5 mL (10 mg/mL) | Pen injector | $3,398 |
Entyvio | 300 mg | Vial | $2,447 |
Epclusa | 400 mg-100 mg | Tablet | $1,887 |
Opsumit | 10 mg | Tablet | $2,594 |
These are just the top 20 on the priority list, some of which have already gone under review. See the full list on the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board’s dashboard.
Could Colorado limit prescription drug price caps?
The Prescription Drug Affordability Board was created in 2021 to review prescription drugs and evaluate their affordability for Coloradans, and it has the legal authority to cap prices. But this session, lawmakers are considering a bill to limit which prescription drugs can get price caps.
Senate Bill 24-060 would exempt so-called “orphan drugs.” These are medications designated as such because they treat a rare disease or condition, typically one that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S.
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Supporters of the bill argue this is about relatively few drugs for very rare conditions. Opponents are concerned that some of these drugs have multiple uses.
The bill passed out of a Senate committee but has been laid over three times since. Its next scheduled floor date is April 1.
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