Celltrion Healthcare said it has successfully secured a supply contract for Yuflyma, a biosimilar referencing Humira (ingredient: adalimumab), with CarePartners Pharmacy, a leading Specialty Pharmacy chain in the U.S.

The contract follows CarePartners Pharmacy's recent listing of Yuflyma on its pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

Humira, the original medicine, is prescribed primarily for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis.

Starting from the end of this month, Yuflyma will be available for sale across the U.S. through CarePartners Pharmacy outlets. Notably, as CarePartners Pharmacy has excluded Humira from its product line, Yuflyma will be the only adalimumab medication that the company will market.

Celltrion has emphasized that CarePartners, renowned for its specialty in chronic and rare disease medications, operates as a primary channel in the U.S. healthcare market, working closely with medium-sized PBMs.

With a license to distribute pharmaceuticals in all 50 states and Washington D.C., the partnership will now cover more than 10 million patients linked with CarePartners and its associated channels.

Celltrion Healthcare added that the agreement to supply Yuflyma directly to CarePartners will also have a positive impact on profitability by reducing distribution steps.

Celltrion Healthcare's decision to sell Yuflyma exclusively to CarePartners was driven by the product's inherent competitive advantages.

"Yuflyma improves patient comfort by eliminating citrate, which can cause pain, and latex, a natural rubber that can cause allergies," the company said. "In addition, the high-concentration (100mg/mL) formulation, which halves the drug dose compared to the low-concentration formulation, is advantageous in the U.S. market as such formulation accounts for 87 percent of the U.S. adalimumab market."

The company also expects to make further progress in formulary negotiations, which are currently underway with multiple PBMs.

Celltrion Healthcare had previously secured formulary coverage for Ventegra and Medicare Advantage, which is managed by Optum, one of the top three PBMs in the U.S.

The company plans to ramp up its sales and marketing efforts to help Yuflyma reach 40 percent of the U.S. insurance market by the end of the year.

"We are excited to collaborate with Celltrion Healthcare to provide a high-quality, high-concentration product, Yuflyma, to replace Humira," CarePartners Pharmacy founder and CEO Kam Ghazvini said. "We look forward to realizing cost savings for payers through CarePartners' programs."