The announcement on Celltrion Healthcare's contract with a U.S. Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) for its Humira biosimilar Yuflyma (adalimumab) is being delayed.

On Tuesday, Celltrion Healthcare disclosed the progress concerning its contract with a U.S. PBM on its website. A PBM is an independent private organization that negotiates with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of insurers on the availability and price of drugs. Pharmaceutical companies must sign a contract with a large PBM to increase their share in the US drug market.

"In late July, we signed a rebate agreement to put Yuflyma, a biosimilar of Humira treating autoimmune diseases, on the public insurance market of a leading U.S. PBMs," Celltrion Healthcare said.

Celltrion Healthcare stopped short of disclosing further details, including the company name according to its agreement with the latter, saying it would make public more details when it completed follow-up administrative procedures.

"We are negotiating with multiple PBMs. We will continue to expand our channels and discussions that align with our strategy to register Yuflyma on the insurance market that covers 40 percent of the U.S. population by the end of the year," Celltrion Healthcare went on to say.

However, this is far from what Celltrion Healthcare originally promised in a shareholder letter on March 11. Celltrion Healthcare said contracts were in progress at the time, and the company would announce results by the end of July.

Commenting on the delayed announcement and the failure to reach finalized agreements by the promised timeframe, Celltrion Healthcare said it was due to market’s misunderstanding of its PBM formulary timeline.

"Our previous letter stated that we would share our progress by the end of July. Today's announcement was a step forward," a company official said. "We have yet to take final steps, but we are nearing the end of the process."