Denise Myshko

PBMs have imposed accumulators and maximizers to counteract pharma’s copay assistance programs. Drug manufacturers have retaliated by reducing the amount of patient assistance available.

The FDA has approved a second bispecific antibody to treat patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, as well as Linzess to treat children with constipation. Additionally, an FDA advisory committee recommends approval of Sanofi/AstraZeneca’s RSV vaccine for infants.

If passed, PBMs would not be able to charge fees that are connected to the price of a drug, discounts, or rebates.

Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs present a challenge to payers in terms of costs and outcomes, finds PSG’s new Drug Benefit Design Report.

SmithRx will offer Yusimry through Mark Cuban’s online pharmacy for $569.27, and members will be able to apply their insurance benefits.

More than 90% of cancer centers have experienced shortages of critical drugs. Erin R. Fox, Pharm.D., University of Utah Health, talks about why these shortages are happening and efforts that are being made to address them.

The FDA has made three approvals this week: a novel drug for dry eye disease, a new indication for Prevymis to prevent CMV disease in adult kidney transplant recipients, and another prostate cancer indication for Lynparza. The agency has also set target action dates for the first CRISPR gene edited therapy and a supplement indication for Jemperli for earlier treatment of endometrial cancer. Additionally, Janssen submitted sBLA for Carvykti for early treatment of myeloma.

The FDA has approved two novel therapies for patients with dry eye disease: Vevye (previously CyclASol) is a water-free, preservative-free solution, and Miebo, which address the excessive tear evaporation that is seen with dry eye.

Exagamglogene autotemcel is being evaluated for patients with sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, in which a patient’s own hematopoietic stem cells are edited to produce high levels of fetal hemoglobin in red blood cells.

Renee Rayburg talks about how paying for specialty drugs continues to be a top concern for both health plans and employers.

The median annual cost for new oncology medicines launched in 2022 was $260,000, up from $63,534 10 years ago, an IQVIA report finds.

Inpefa (sotagliflozin) added 0.39 quality of life years at an incremental lifetime cost of $29,449 for an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $75,510 per quality-of-life year gained, according to the study that was sponsored by the drug's maker, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals.

In an analysis, researchers determined that Inpefa is cost-effective at commonly accepted willingness-to-pay thresholds in treating patients with heart failure who have diabetes.

Over the last five years, both PBMs and drug manufacturers have implemented restrictions that put more of the costs for specialty medications on patients.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee want to modernize the rules around PBM business practices to lower out-of-pocket costs and increase competition.

If approved, Perrigo’s Opill could be the first-ever nonprescription birth control pill.

The suit alleges that Express Scripts, Prime and Prime customer Humana Pharmacy Solutions are able to share drug pricing and rebate information to increase prices for insulins, biologics and cancer drugs.

RxBenefits helps patients in self-funded plans find and apply for alternative sources of funding for specialty medicines and facilitates enrollment.

Leniolisib, now with the brand name Joenja, treats APDA, a genetic disorder that impairs the immune system. It will have an annual list price of $547,500 a year.

FDA approvals this week include: novel treatment for invasive candidiasis, an accelerated approval to Zynyz for Merkel cell carcinoma, the high-concentration Humira biosimilar Hyrimoz, and extension of Evkeeza’s indication to include young children. The agency also issued two complete responses this week: for Incyte’s extended-release Jakafi and for AbbVie’s Parkinson’s therapy.

American Indian and Alaska Native had increased access to diabetes treatment services, which lowered hyperglycemia and blood lipid levels, as well as diabetic retinopathy incidence.

The discovery of a protein that determines levels of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF) could lead to new therapies for macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other common causes of vision loss.

The proposed legislation, sponsored by Sens. Chuck Grassley and Maria Cantwell, aims to increase transparency of PBM business practices.

In his keynote at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology Association Safi R. Bahcall, Ph.D., a physicist and entrepreneur, spoke about how seemingly crazy ideas can lead to breakthroughs.

VISIBLE is focused on answering data gaps in people of color with psoriasis. Lead investigator Andrew F. Alexis, M.D., hopes the study will generate data to help address care gaps and inform future best practices in diversity research in dermatology.

Checkpoint inhibitors, such as Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab), are playing a major role in cancer treatment. But they also produce side effects that affect the skin. Steven Chen, M.D., M.P.H., M.H.P. Ed., said dermatologists need to work with oncologists to manage the side effects so patients can stay on checkpoint inhibitors.

Longer-term use of Opzelura was well tolerated, with no serious treatment-related adverse events, according to a poster presented at the annual dermatology meeting.

Women who are pregnant don’t have to stop all of their treatments during pregnancy. Some can be safely treated for their psoriasis or eczema, according to a presentation today at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Research shows that short-term exposure to wildfire air pollution can affect the skin and cause flares of certain skin conditions.

After initial treatment, Opzelura used on an as-needed basis was able to control symptoms of atopic dermatitis and helped patients sleep, according to a poster presented at the annual dermatology meeting.