Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany) has teamed up with the prescription drug pricing tracker GoodRx (NSDQ:GDRX) to facilitate patients’ access to cost savings. For instance, people with type 2 diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can use GoodRx to enroll in copay programs for relevant Boehringer Ingelheim drugs.
The two companies estimate that the alliance will provide patients access to roughly $15 million in annual savings.
Diabetes and COPD are among the most common chronic diseases in the U.S. The former affects approximately one in 10 Americans while more than 16 million people in the U.S. have COPD, according to the CDC.
Drugs covered in the program include the following:
- Jardiance (empagliflozin).
- Synjardy (empagliflozin/metformin HCI).
- Synjardy XR (empagliflozin/metformin HCI extended-release).
- Spiriva Respimat (tiotropium bromide).
- Stiolto Respimat (tiotropium bromide and olodaterol).
- Combivent Respimat (ipratropium bromide and albuterol).
“As insurance deductibles increase, fewer medications are covered by insurance, and more restrictions are placed on the medications that are covered, patients are left carrying more of the economic burden,” said Bansi Nagji, President of Healthcare at GoodRx, in a statement. “The integration of Boehringer Ingelheim’s savings programs will help lower the affordability barrier for patients so they can better access the medications they need.”
In related news, GoodRx also recently unveiled a partnership with health information technology firm Surescripts to facilitate physicians’ access to point-of-care drug costs. According to GoodRx, roughly one-third of Americans report skipping filling prescriptions for chronic conditions over monetary concerns.