Insmed creates special pricing system for Iplex launch

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Eugene, Ore., June 9 - Insmed Inc. announced it will use a special pricing system for the launch of Iplex (mecasermin rinfabate (rDNA origin) injection) that only charges patients for the milligrams of the drug that they are prescribed and use.

Creating the Iplex Utilization System to account for unused product was "a necessity" to be able to launch the product in the second quarter, said Philip J. Young, chief business officer for the company, in a statement to Prospect News.

"We made the decision to bring Iplex to the market as rapidly as possible after receiving FDA approval and orphan-drug designation in December 2005. As part of our launch, we proactively announced the Iplex Utilization Program, the first of its kind in the industry, guaranteeing payers and patients they would only pay for Iplex that is prescribed and used," Young said in a company news release.

In its current vial configuration, Iplex does not contain preservatives, which means the drug can only be removed from each vial once, whether or not all of it is used. Depending on their dosage levels, patients may not use the entire vial, Young added in the statement.

The Iplex Utilization System is a way for Insmed to make up for the waste, he said.

The program does not charge for unused product remaining after the prescribed dose is extracted. Product discarded as waste is replaced by the company at no extra charge to the payer or the patient, according to the release.

Insmed has not announced an estimate of what the program will cost the company. However, it did determine that launching Iplex in the second quarter, even with the additional costs related to the pricing system, outweighed waiting until it has developed more efficient distribution methods, Young said.

Insmed intends to continue the program until it is able to release a shelf-stable, multi-dose vial and delivery system, which is expected in 2007, Young said in his statement.

The company is also working to develop an injector-pen distribution device for Iplex that would eliminate wasting of the drug, he said.

Iplex is a once-daily IGF-1 replacement therapy used to treat children with severe IGFD, a genetic or acquired condition in which patients do not generate sufficient quantities of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I), due to a defect in the growth hormone receptor/IGF-I pathway.

Insmed has sent letters to 800 payers announcing the pricing system, according to the release.

The company is also considering Iplex for other indications with unmet medical needs, including extreme insulin resistance, myotonic muscular dystrophy and HIV Associated Adipose Redistribution System.

Insmed is a Richmond, Va., biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of drug candidates for the treatment of metabolic diseases and endocrine disorders.

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