<<< Insurers Paid Back Half of Patients
Picking Up Viagra Prescriptions
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Insurers reimbursed half of the patients picking up prescriptions for the
impotence-treatment drug Viagra, according to an industry study.
Estimates this week by private industry researcher IMS America showed that 51% of the
113,134 people who picked up new prescriptions for Viagra in the week ended April 17 were
repaid by their health insurer.
That's less than the 76% coverage insurers offer for prescription drugs overall, according to
IMS. But whether insurers broaden their coverage of the drug or not, Viagra will be a major
success, said Myron Holubiak, general manager of the IMS division that monitors the drug.
Less than a month after its introduction, the Pfizer Inc. drug accounted for nearly 95% of
impotence drug sales.
Most managed-care health insurers are still considering whether to add Viagra to their preferred
drug lists. Such a listing can determine whether a patient can be reimbursed for the drug at all
and, if so, how much coverage they receive. The most restrictive plans require patients'
doctors to seek a special exception to the list based on a pressing medical need.
Coverage rates were higher for some rival treatments. Half of the patients using Muse, a
suppository inserted into the penis, were reimbursed by insurers. But 73% of impotent men
who used Caverject, an injectible drug made by Pharmacia and Upjohn, and 69% of those
who used Edex injections, were reimbursed.
Muse, Caverject and Edex all contain the same drug, a synthetic form of the hormone
prostaglandin E that is generically called alprostadil.>>>
I recall that earnings or sales estimates by an analyst (can't remember which one) were based on the assumption that NO reimbursement would occur by insurance companies. Therefore the news above should logically help push these earnings estimates up a bit? Can anyone remeber who the analyst was?
Good luck.
Perry
BTW, does anyone definitively know whether all these estimates are based upon sales in the U.S. or worldwide (based on future acceptance). The answer would help me and I'm sure alot of others assess whether the estimates are too low or possibly too high. |
