Wellfleet Rx: How the switch from Humira to biosimilars provided significant cost savings for schools and members

Adalimumab, better known as Humira, became a popular medication for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis at the end of 2002. Since then, Humira has been approved for other conditions including plaque psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and more.¹

Humira was a revolutionary drug, playing a significant role in changing the management of chronic inflammatory disorders² — however, one major drawback is the high-cost of this medication. For years, Humira has been one of the top-selling drugs globally,³ but its annual cost can exceed $80,000, making it one of the most expensive prescription drugs in America.⁴

A significant factor in Humira’s success has been the absence of competition⁵: however, biosimilars have become an exceedingly popular way to lower costs on drugs while still providing the same effectiveness. The Wellfleet Rx formulary adapted to this change upon the approval of biosimilars for Humira, making the biosimilars the first-line treatments to provide significant cost savings for schools, and lower premiums for students.

What are Humira biosimilars?

Biosimilars are biologic medications derived from living organisms, unlike traditional medicines, which are created using a chemical process. These therapies have no clinically meaningful difference from an existing FDA-approved biologic, which are called reference products⁴.

For biologics like Humira, the biosimilars are designed to behave similarly to the original drug. Although not an exact replica, like generics, biosimilars are extremely alike to the reference drug and have “no clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety, purity, and potency”.⁶ Biosimilars replicate nearly everything about their reference drug, besides the brand name — which is key to providing students and schools with significant cost savings.

Cost savings: Wellfleet Rx change from brand name to biosimilars

Amjevita (adalumumab-atto), the first approved biosimilar for Humira, was approved as of February 2023. As more biosimilars began to get approved and the market became more comfortable with these products, pharmacies were able to start distributing Humira biosimilars at lower costs.⁷ After this change, the Wellfleet Student Formulary, Wellfleet Rx, took the opportunity to lower costs for students and schools by replacing brand name Humira with biosimilars.

Wellfleet documented data from before and after the formulary preference switch from brand name Humira to biosimilars (1/1/2025 – 12/31/2025).  Results showed a positive shift from prescribers and students making the switch to biosimilars. Before the switch, ~66% of students were using brand name Humira, while the other ~44% used biosimilar products. After the formulary update in the second half of 2025, only ~24% of students continued using brand name Humira, while ~76% of students were using a Humira biosimilar. This change doesn’t only highlight the significant cost savings provided for the school and its students – it also demonstrates the effectiveness of Humira biosimilars, as clinicians are comfortably prescribing these medications instead of the brand name.

Notice that there is still ~24% of students who were using the Humira brand name. While Wellfleet has replaced Humira with biosimilars, Wellfleet allows for medical necessity exceptions in cases where the student has previously tried lower cost alternatives or has a medical condition as to why they cannot try them. Students generally attempt Humira biosimilars as the first step before moving to brand name Humira — in this case, ~24% of students still require brand name Humira.

When aggregated with cost savings from utilization of the biosimilars in the first half of the year, Wellfleet has saved nearly $12.45 per member, per year, in costs due to the utilization of Humira biosimilar products.

What’s next?

The change from brand name Humira to biosimilar alternatives has received positive responses from students and prescribers alike under Wellfleet Rx. As biosimilars continue to change the financial landscape of many medications, Wellfleet will continue to update the Student Formulary to make sure schools and students are receiving the right care, at the right cost. Visit the Wellfleet Rx website to learn more about our student-focused formulary, tools, and resources.

References

1. Pope, C, BPharm. (2025, June 4).Retrieved from Humira: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects, Warnings – Drugs.com
2. Synapse. (2025, March 7). Retrieved from What is the approval history and clinical development pathway of Humira?
3. Kirby, S. (2026, January 15). Retrieved from Why Is Humira So Expensive? Costs and Alternatives (2026)
4. Mira Mace. (2025, August 13). Retrieved from Humira vs. Its 2025 Biosimilars: How to Cut Your Annual RA Drug Bill by 60% or More | Mira Mace
5. Gibbons, J, Laber, M, Bennett, C. (2023, February 8). Retrieved from Humira: The First $20 Billion Drug | AJMC
6. U.S Food and Drug Administration. (2022, December 13). Retrieved from Review and Approval | FDA
7. Jeremias, S. (2025, April 5). Retrieved from Early Success of Adalimumab Biosimilars Featured at AMCP 2025

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