Colorado Drug Price Board Says J&J’s Stelara is Unaffordable (1)

A blockbuster arthritis drug from Johnson & Johnson could soon see a limit on what Colorado health plans pay for the product after the state review board determined the treatment is “unaffordable” for patients.

The five-member Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board voted Friday to grant this designation to Stelara, an injectable drug used to treat conditions like moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and Crohn’s disease.

The vote means the board will decide in a follow-up meeting whether to pursue an upper payment limit (UPL) for the drug, which the board’s affordability review found cost an average of roughly $150,000 per ...