Knoll pricing Meridia at $2.90-$3.75 per day: high price may restrict anti-obesity use.
Executive Summary
KNOLL MERIDIA LAUNCH PRICE OF $2.90 PER DAY AWP SUGGESTS CONSERVATIVE APPROACH to marketing the once-daily obesity therapy. The price of Meridia (sibutramine) on a daily basis is more than 70% higher than the launch price for Wyeth-Ayerst/Interneuron's now-withdrawn Redux (dexfenfluramine), which cost $1.70 per day AWP. Knoll faces the same relatively unusual marketing challenge Wyeth faced with Redux: a desire to limit the roll-out of its drug to avoid an early spike in sales followed by a drop-off. The high-profile cardiovascular side effects associated with Redux and its predecessor product Pondimin (fenfluramine) has made the obesity market even more sensitive.