By Sneha S K and Patrick Wingrove
(Reuters) -Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) plans to launch schizophrenia drug Cobenfy in the UK next year at a price matching its U.S. list price, it said on Monday.
Cobenfy, a new type of antipsychotic medicine that activates proteins called muscarinic receptors in the central nervous system, carries a U.S. list price of $1,850 a month, or about $22,500 annually.
The company’s announcement follows mounting pressure on drugmakers to lower their U.S. prices. BMS was one of 17 drugmakers to receive letters from U.S. President Donald Trump in July outlining how they should cut prices to match those paid overseas.
Eli Lilly, another recipient, said in August that it would raise the UK list price of its weight-loss treatment Mounjaro by up to 170% for private payers from September.
Drugmakers and the Trump administration have met to discuss ways to raise overseas drug prices to offset U.S. cuts, Reuters reported in August.
The U.S. pays more for prescription drugs than any other country, often nearly three times as much as other developed nations.
“We agree with the Trump administration that other countries need to pay their fair share,” said Adam Lenkowsky, chief commercialization officer at BMS.
Lenkowsky said the company aims to work with Britain’s drugs cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE and its National Health Service to secure access to the drug but will walk away if the medicine’s value is not reflected adequately.
Unlike in the U.S., where market forces determine drug prices, European governments typically negotiate directly with companies to set prices for their national healthcare systems.
BMS said it will file a fast-track marketing authorisation application for Cobenfy with the UK regulator before the end of the year.
The company estimates schizophrenia affects about 1 in 100 people in the UK. The mental health disorder causes persistent delusions and hallucinations, significantly impairing the way patients perceive reality.
(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru, Patrick Wingrove in New York and Maggie Fick in London; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Shailesh Kuber and David Goodman)
