During the first quarter of 2016, Novartis reported $17 million in sales of sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto), which was short of analyst expectations.
The FDA approved sacubitril/valsartan in July 2015 to treat patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. The approval of the twice-daily oral medication was based on results of a study that showed the drug significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular mortality, heart failure hospitalizations and all-cause mortality compared with enalapril, which is a commonly used FDA-approved ACE inhibitor.
At the time, Novartis said it estimated worldwide sales of sacubitril/valsartan could reach more than $5 billion. However, the company now expects U.S. sales of approximately $200 million in 2016.
In February, Novartis entered into pay-for-performance agreements with Cigna and Aetna to help make sacubitril/valsartan available to more patients. Novartis said the drug is available to 91 percent of Medicare patients on their formularies, including 65 percent at the lowest branded co-pay health plan.
Novartis is making a commitment to reaching out to more cardiologists to tout the benefits of sacubitril/valsartan. CEO Joe Jimenez told the Wall Street Journal the company has increased its U.S. sales force devoted to sacubitril/valsartan by 50 percent.
Novartis also plans on launching a direct-to-consumer advertising plan for sacubitril/valsartan this month.
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.