On 5 May 2026, Reuters reported that, from 1 July 2026, CVS Health will preference lower-cost, interchangeable biosimilars over Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) Stelara® (ustekinumab) in its most common drug lists. CVS Health’s pharmacy benefit management unit, Caremark, will transition to biosimilar versions of Stelara®, such as Sandoz’s Pyzchiva® and Biocon Biologics’ Yesintek™, with most members paying $0 out-of-pocket for their therapy.
Sandoz’s Pyzchiva® and Biocon Biologics’ Yesintek™ are two of the many ustekinumab biosimilars now available in the US. This follows settlement agreements between J&J and the following companies: Amgen (which launched its biosimilar, Wezlana®, in the US in early January 2025 through Optum Health Solution’s private label subsidiary Nuvaila), Alvotech and Teva (Selarsdi® launched on 21 February 2025), Biocon (Yesintek™ launched on 24 February 2025), Samsung Bioepis’/Sandoz’s Pyzchiva® (February 2025), Celltrion (Steqeyma® launched March 2025), and Fresenius Kabi and Formycon (Otulfi® launched March 2025). Other ustekinumab biosimilars launched in the US include Dong A-ST/Accord’s Imuldosa® (launched August 2025) and Bio-Thera/Hikma’s Starjemza™ (launched November 2025).
However, J&J continues to expand the approved indications for Stelara®. Most recently, on 15 April 2026, the FDA approved Stelara® for the treatment of children two years and older with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease. Stelara® is now the only FDA-approved IL-12/23 antagonist and the first non-TNF biologic to treat adults and children with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease.