Formulary Watch covers formularies, pharmacy benefit management companies, drug approvals, and other matters related to medications, their prices and insurance coverage.
Qsymia’s manufacturer also released postmarketing data showing the oral therapy for weight loss was associated with reductions in 24-hour mean systolic blood pressure.
Itovebi is approved to treat patients with PIK3CA-mutated HR-positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer in combination with Ibrance and fulvestrant. It will have a cost of $22,867 for a 28-day cycle.
PBMs are putting weight loss drugs, including Wegovy and Zepbound, on their national formularies, but coverage by plans is uneven. What is needed is more data about whether these drugs can lower overall healthcare costs.
UnitedHealthcare is adding deductibles to Part D prescriptions on certain formulary tiers as a result of plan design changes from the Inflation Reduction Act.
KarXT — now with the brand name Cobenfy— is expected to be available in October with a list price of about $22,500 annually. The drug represents a new way to treat adults with schizophrenia.
PSG's Morgan Lee talks about how customers of the Big 3 PBMs report lower satisfaction across most measures, and they are less likely to recommend their PBM.
Clinical data suggests an imbalance in vaso-occlusive crises and fatal events that require further assessment, and the company said it will provide updates in the future.
Novo Nordisk said it’s open to discussions with PBMs based on their commitments that a lower semgalutide list price would not impact formulary coverage.
The FTC said it is focusing on insulin as the “poster child” of a broken system, where PBMs leverage formulary placement to receive higher rebates from pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The FDA has already approved Zoryve cream (0.3% and 0.15%) for plaque psoriasis and atopic dermatitis in adults and children ages 6 and up. Currently, Zoryve foam 0.3% is only approved to treat seborrheic dermatitis in adult and pediatric patients 9 years and older.
Bimzelx was first approved last year for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis in adults, making it the first and only IL-17A and IL-17F inhibitor approved in the United States for four autoimmune diseases.