Analysis Group Consultants Use Humira to Examine Biosimilar Competition Landscape
February 5, 2026
Several large pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have removed Humira (the branded name for the anti-inflammatory biologic adalimumab) from their national preferred formularies over the past two years, leaving only biosimilars covered. This and other similar events provide insights into how a range of factors continue to shape the broader competitive landscape for biologics and biosimilars.
In an article published in Law360, Analysis Group Managing Principals Andrée-Anne Fournier and Pavel Darling and Vice President Michael Carson examine these dynamics and their implications for both economic and legal analyses. The authors outline how the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) updated draft guidance may accelerate biosimilar uptake by streamlining pathways for their approval, and they highlight the growing presence of private-label- distributed biosimilars such as Cordavis’ Hyrimoz. The authors also explore how biosimilar adoption shifted after the April 2024 CVS Caremark formulary change, with commercial plans exhibiting meaningfully higher uptake than government-funded plans.
Ms. Fournier, Mr. Darling, and Mr. Carson note that Humira offers an important real-world test of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act framework, and they highlight how additional factors such as rebate structures, patent-related challenges, and evolving regulatory standards may shape future litigation involving biologics and biosimilars. Because heterogeneity in pricing, rebate structures, and other factors may well persist, they emphasize the need for continued research into the economic drivers of biosimilar adoption, as well as the importance of grounding legal and policy decisions in robust empirical evidence.