Humira and Stelara Biosimilars: Costs and Assistance
Humira and Stelara now each have several biosimilars, and most come with their own assistance programs. If you are switching, or your plan is switching you, the help you had does not move with you. Here is what each product offers.
By mendmeds · Published · 4 min read
The short version
- A biosimilar is a biologic that the FDA has found highly similar to an approved reference product, with no clinically meaningful differences.
- As of November 2026, mendmeds tracks 5 Humira biosimilars and 5 Stelara biosimilars with active programs; 9 of them have a copay card that quotes as little as $0 for people with private insurance.
- Assistance is tied to the product. A Humira or Stelara copay card does not pay for a biosimilar, so switching means signing up for the new product’s program.
- 7 of the biosimilars have a free-drug patient assistance program; where an income limit is recorded, it runs from 250% to 400% of the poverty level.
What a biosimilar is
Humira (adalimumab) and Stelara (ustekinumab) are biologics, medicines made from living cells. A biosimilar is a version that the FDA has found highly similar to the original, called the reference product, with no clinically meaningful differences. Your prescriber can prescribe a biosimilar the same way as the reference product.
Some biosimilars also carry an interchangeable designation, which a maker has to apply for separately. An interchangeable biosimilar can be substituted for the reference product at the pharmacy without your prescriber’s involvement, but only where state law allows it. Ask your pharmacist what applies in your state.
Humira (adalimumab) biosimilars
| Product | Maker | Copay card (private insurance) | Patient assistance | Cash price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humira (reference) | AbbVie | as little as $0 per month | None recorded | - |
| Abrilada | Pfizer | None recorded | Income up to 300% of the poverty level; accepts Medicare Part D | - |
| Amjevita | Amgen | as little as $0 out-of-pocket for each prescription fill, dose, or cycle | No income limit recorded | - |
| Hadlima | Organon | as little as $0 a month | Income up to 250% of the poverty level | - |
| Hyrimoz | Sandoz | as little as $0 | No income limit recorded; accepts Medicare Part D | - |
| Yusimry | Meitheal Pharmaceuticals (formerly Coherus BioSciences) | as little as $0 per dose | None recorded | $526.75 per carton (two 40 mg/0.8 mL pen-injectors), which includes a $15 pharmacy labor fee; next-day refrigerated shipping ($55) and taxes are added at checkout |
Terms as each maker states them. Each product’s page links the source and the date we checked it.
We also track Cyltezo, but none of its programs is active in our data.
Stelara (ustekinumab) biosimilars
| Product | Maker | Copay card (private insurance) | Patient assistance | Cash price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stelara (reference) | Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) | $5 per dose | Income up to 600% of the poverty level | - |
| Pyzchiva | Samsung Bioepis (developer); Sandoz (U.S. commercializer) | eligible commercially insured patients may pay as little as $0 per treatment | None recorded | - |
| Selarsdi | Teva Pharmaceuticals | as little as $0 for Selarsdi | None recorded | - |
| Steqeyma | Celltrion | as little as $0 for each fill of a one-month prescription | Income up to 400% of the poverty level | - |
| Wezlana | Amgen | As little as $0 out-of-pocket per fill, dose, or cycle | No income limit recorded | - |
| Yesintek | Biocon Biologics | as little as $0 for each monthly fill | Income up to 400% of the poverty level | - |
Terms as each maker states them. Each product’s page links the source and the date we checked it.
What switching means for your assistance
- Your current program does not follow you. Each copay card and patient assistance program covers only its own product. Enroll in the new product’s program before your first fill, and ask your prescriber’s office or specialty pharmacy to send the new prescription with it.
- Compare the programs, not just the product. Card terms and patient assistance income limits differ between biosimilars of the same medicine, as the tables show.
- Some makers help with the switch. Yesintek, for example, runs a transition program for people moving to it from Stelara, alongside its copay card.
- Check your deductible. If your plan runs a copay accumulator, a card’s payments may not count toward it; copay accumulators and maximizers explains how to tell.
If you are on Medicare
Copay cards are for private insurance only, so none of the cards in these tables works with Medicare. Among the patient assistance programs, the ones for Abrilada and Hyrimoz accept Part D. Extra Help lowers what you pay for any covered drug, and open enrollment is the time to check which of these products your plan covers next year.
Common questions
What are the Humira biosimilars?
The ones mendmeds tracks with active assistance programs are Abrilada, Amjevita, Hadlima, Hyrimoz and Yusimry. The FDA has approved others, so check which ones your plan covers.
Does the Humira copay card work for a biosimilar?
No. Each program covers only its own product. If you switch to a biosimilar, enroll in that product’s copay card or patient assistance program.
Is a biosimilar the same as a generic?
Not quite. Generics are copies of chemical drugs. Biologics are made from living cells and cannot be copied exactly, so a biosimilar is approved as highly similar to the reference product, with no clinically meaningful differences.
Can my pharmacy switch me to a biosimilar without asking my doctor?
Only to an interchangeable biosimilar, and only where state law allows pharmacy-level substitution. Otherwise your prescriber has to write the prescription for the biosimilar.
Want the numbers for your own prescription? Pick your drug and see which programs it offers, what each one requires, and the source we checked.
Sources
Keep reading
This article is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice. Program rules change, so check the program’s own page before you apply.