CVS Caremark Is Expanding Access and Affordability With Biosimilars
WOONSOCKET, RI / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2026 / CVS Health
Key points
- Biosimilars can expand access to lower-cost treatments while maintaining the same standards for safety, effectiveness and quality as their reference biologics
- Employer interest in biosimilars is growing, with nearly half of surveyed employers encouraging coverage for biosimilars and another 40% considering or exploring it
- CVS Caremark is accelerating biosimilar adoption to help improve affordability and access, with its approach delivering approximately $1.5 billion in gross savings for clients and members while maintaining access to treatment
As health care leaders work to expand access and improve affordability, biosimilars are creating new opportunities to help patients access the treatments they need. By increasing competition and expanding treatment options, biosimilars are helping to make high-quality care more accessible across the health care system.
Key findings from the CVS Caremark-Employee Benefit News Biosimilar Study
A recent survey conducted by CVS Caremark and Employee Benefit News (EBN) highlights the growing momentum behind biosimilars. Nearly half of employers surveyed said they currently encourage coverage of biosimilars, while another 40% are actively considering or exploring the approach as part of their pharmacy benefit strategy. The findings reflect a broader recognition that biosimilars can help address one of health care’s most pressing challenges: how to expand access to treatment while managing costs.
Biosimilars are FDA-approved medications that are highly similar to an existing biologic medicine and have no clinically meaningful differences in safety, effectiveness or quality. While biologics have transformed care for many complex and chronic conditions, they also represent a significant share of prescription drug spending. Biosimilars may offer a lower-cost alternative that can help make these therapies more accessible for patients and more sustainable for employers and health plans.
The opportunity is especially important in specialty pharmacy, where high-cost therapies continue to drive health care spending. In the CVS Caremark-EBN survey, employers identified expanding access to affordable specialty medications as one of the greatest opportunities for pharmacy benefit managers to improve. Forty-three percent also said specialty drug access is a top consideration when choosing a PBM partner.
How CVS Caremark is Expanding Biosimilar Access and Affordability
CVS Health has taken a leading role in advancing biosimilar adoption. In 2024, CVS Caremark became the first pharmacy benefit manager to remove Humira® from major national commercial template formularies in favor of biosimilars. The strategy helped accelerate adoption of lower-cost alternatives and generated significant savings for clients and members. CVS Caremark reports that its biosimilar approach has helped clients and members realize approximately $3.3 billion in gross savings while maintaining access to treatment.
CVS Caremark has also expanded biosimilar adoption into additional therapeutic areas, including osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis and rare blood disorders, helping increase access to lower-cost treatment options. More recently, CVS Caremark updated key commercial formularies to prefer lower-cost interchangeable biosimilars over Stelara®. The change is designed to improve affordability while maintaining access to clinically appropriate care, with most affected members expected to pay no out-of-pocket costs for their therapy.
What the Study Means for Specialty Drug Costs
These examples demonstrate how competition can help improve affordability across the health care system. For patients, biosimilars can reduce financial barriers to needed medications. For employers and health plans, they offer another tool to help manage specialty drug costs while maintaining access to proven therapies.
As more biosimilars enter the market, they are helping shape a health care system that better balances affordability, access and clinical excellence. By expanding access to proven lower-cost alternatives while maintaining high standards of care, biosimilars represent a meaningful opportunity to improve outcomes for patients and create a more sustainable future for health care.
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SOURCE: CVS Health
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