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Diving brief:
- Cigna is based on customer demand for tools to support patients on GLP-1 weight loss medicines, announcing two new programs on Friday intended to improve clinical care around the distribution of GLP-1s and provide home delivery of medicines.
- The programs intervene as a payers who contract with massive scripts Pharmacy Benefit Manager Express in Cigna for their drug advantages, but are pushed by the prices of the steep drug list and unpredictable long -term results, according to Cigna.
- The programs were announced in tandem with the results of the first quarter of Cigna, which came well above the expectations of analysts. The turnover of $ 65.5 billion increased by more than 14% from one year to the next, while a net profit of $ 1.3 billion compared to a loss of $ 277 million at the same time last year. Cigna increased her profits in 2025 after the results.
Diving insight:
Freshly out of the reshuffle of its suite C and after a turbulent year for health insurers and pharmacy services, CIGNA doubles a reliable growth area: assume customer concerns concerning the coverage of GLP-1, drugs that have shown clear efficiency to help patients lose weight but can cost more than $ 1,000 per month.
The high prices on the list, associated with the fact that many patients leave the medication and regain lost weight, have created a little clear return on investment for payers. However, employers and insurers are still looking for avenues to provide GLP-1 to their members, given a high demand from consumers.
Cigna’s strategy is to provide enveloping programs to help patients make lifestyle changes to guarantee the benefits of GLP-1 health and provide financial guarantees to protect payers from unexpected GLP-1 cost increases.
Evernorth’s initial program, called Encirclex, was launched at the beginning of 2024 and has since increased to cover 9 million patients, Cigna leaders said on Friday morning call with investors.
Now Evernorth introduces Enreachrx, a GLP-1 support program that relies on pharmacists to optimize doses, detect any fraud or waste and help consumers manage side effects; And ENGUIDE PHARMACY, a home delivery pharmacy specializing in GLP-1. The two programs will be broadcast next month.
“We have seen the opportunity to create a new value in the GLP-1 space thanks to the combination of the fight against access, affordability, clinical security and long-term lifestyle changes,” said Coo de Cigna, Brian Evanko, during the call.
Evanko sought to differentiate CIGNA’s approach to GLP-1 of tactics taken by other MBPs to help customers manage the rising rises while increasing access to patients.
CVS, which owns PBM Caremark, announced Thursday that it had signed an agreement with the Danish drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk, which manufactures the GLP-1 Wegovy, to give a favorite placement to Wegovy on its standard form.
This means that Wegovy will be available for Caremark members at a lower price, but that other GLP-1s, such as Zepbound from Eli Lilly, could be more expensive.
“We do not necessarily see the placement of the form or the choice of a drug rather than another in this class as being sufficient to generate the societal impact that these drugs may have,” said Evanko, adding that competition, including among drug manufacturers and various brands of drugs, “tends to improve affordability.”
Overall, Evernorth reported $ 1.4 billion in adjusted income from operations during the quarter, up 5% from one year to the next.
The growth of specialized activity and division care, which includes the Accredo of the specialized pharmacy of Evernorth, was particularly strong, with inflating income from 19% from one year to the next during the quarter – well above the expectations of analysts.
The specialized segment Also deposits 30% of CIGNA’s full income during the quarter, according to Evanko.
Cigna wrote the growth in part to the increased adoption of biosimular For Humira, Abbvie’s successful medication, which deals with a variety of inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and Crohn’s disease.
Offering copryats is potentially a fairly lucrative game for Evernorthgiving the increasing addressable market and that members who change biosimular is generally more profitable for the Accredo.
This month, Accredo Also started offering a biosimilar for Stelara immunosuppressor, also $ 0 from her pocket for eligible patients.
Cigna leaders have warned investors that the new offer cannot take off at the same rate as biosimilars humira, but should strengthen Evernorth’s revenues over time.
“Each biosimilar will have different adoption rates,” said Evanko. “But that said, we expect to see progressive growth of Stelara’s biosimilars during the balance of the year … and we expect a new stage in 2026.”
Meanwhile, Cigna Healthcare, the company’s health insurance division covering 18 million members, said an adjusted income from $ 1.3 billion farms, down 4% from one year to the next, despite the increases in bonus rate intended to cover higher medical costs.
His medical loss ratio, a key marker for patient care spending, was 82.2%, compared to 79.9% at the same time last year.
The leaders wrote the increase in higher costs in the CIGNA stop-loss insurance segment which hit the payer in the fourth quarter.
STOP-Loss insurance protects self-funded employers from health insurance costs greater than a certain amount. More workers using expensive specialized drugs and receiving high acuity surgeries have resulted in highly higher stop-loss costs for Cigna, although the company is progressing in initiatives aimed at improving the margins starting in the rear half of 2025, Evanko said.
In addition, the sale of $ 3.7 billion in Cigna from its Medicare activity to Health Care Service Corporation later closed than expected during the quarter, sedant Cigna with the higher costs of this company and moderately increasing its MLR.
But overall, the medical costs were raised but no more than the insurer had predicted it, said CIGNA financial director Amy Dennison. The MLR of Cigna was that the analysts expected, while the income from the division was better.
It was the first call for Dennison’s profits with investors after being appointed to the post of financial director in March.
