Prime Therapeutics Signs Outcomes-Based Contract with Novo Nordisk for Type 2 Diabetes Drug Victoza® (liraglutide)

As the rate of diabetes continues to escalate in the United States, health care payers are looking for solutions to help manage the cost of treating this serious disease while helping to ensure quality health care for their members. This has led Prime Therapeutics LLC (Prime), a leading pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), and Novo Nordisk, a global health care company and leader in diabetes care, to establish a value-based contract for the type 2 diabetes drug, Victoza®, as part of Prime's CareCentered Contract™ program.

Since signing its first outcomes-based contract in 2010, CareCentered Contracting has served as one arm of a multi-pronged strategy to help control costs for Prime's clients, employers and members. This new contract with Novo Nordisk for Victoza aligns to Prime's strategy by focusing on controlling overall costs for members. Prime will evaluate the effectiveness of Victoza, and together with Novo Nordisk, will reimburse commercial clients if certain measures are not achieved.

"Drugs used to treat diabetes contribute a large portion of overall drug costs for our health plan clients. We appreciate Novo Nordisk's collaboration to address diabetes treatment in a way that will allow us to use data and analytics to improve patients' health and promote affordability," said Jonathan Gavras, M.D., chief medical officer at Prime. "Better understanding of the complexities that affect diabetic members will ultimately improve patient outcomes. This program will also aid patients' abilities to adhere to medications as directed, which is invaluable for people with diabetes to help prevent more serious, future health issues."

Type 2 diabetes is a serious disease affecting more than 28 million people in the United States (9.4 percent of the population). The diagnosis is most common in adults and occurs when the body no longer effectively uses or produces enough of the blood sugar-regulating hormone, insulin, or is no longer properly able to use the insulin the body produces. 

"Novo Nordisk has been focused on improving diabetes care for over 90 years, developing medicines that are vital for glucose control. Through this contract, we saw an opportunity to bring together our depth of diabetes knowledge with Prime's strong analytics capabilities to help people with diabetes," said Todd Hobbs, M.D., U.S. chief medical officer at Novo Nordisk. "Improving patient care is a key focus for both organizations and we're hopeful that over time our learnings lead to helping all of our customers better understand what works and what doesn't."