BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics & Policy

Express Scripts names 2017 exclusions, preferred drugs

August 1, 2016 7:00 AM UTC

On Monday, Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ESRX) posted a list of drugs it will not cover in its 2017 formulary, along with preferred alternatives in each drug category.

The PBM will exclude from its formulary new psoriasis drug Taltz ixekizumab from Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY), a humanized mAb against interleukin-17A ( IL-17A) that FDA approved in March; and rheumatoid arthritis therapy Orencia abatacept, a CTLA-4 ( CD152)-Ig fusion protein from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY). Express Scripts lists ten preferred alternatives in the inflammatory disease category, including Xeljanz tofacitinib and Xeljanz XR from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Actemra tocilizumab from the Genentech unit of Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4519). Xeljanz was excluded in 2016. ...