The six pharma companies with FDA-approved rheumatoid arthritis drugs spent a total of $195 million on marketing and promotion of the five biologics that were approved at the time, including Abbott Laboratories’ Humira, developed in Worcester.
A new report by Decision Resources and Millennium Research Group shows that the makers of Humira, Enbrel, Remicade, Kineret and Orencia spent this “substantial” amount that’s in the range of expected expenditures for more highly prevalent conditions. Expanded usages for the drugs are a factor in the higher expenditures, the researchers say, as well as the need to target doctor groups other than rheumatologists.
