Formulary Watch |

The Federal Trade Commission said that paying or accepting rebates or fees in exchange for excluding lower cost drugs on formularies could be considered commercial bribery.

A literature review by AmerisourceBergen's Xcenda identifies a link between high cost sharing and patient nonadherence to medication regimens.

The committee recommended Moderna’s and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines were recommended for children 6 months to five years, as well as Moderna’s vaccine for children ages 7 to 16.

Genentech’s anti-amyloid crenezumab did not slow or prevent cognitive decline in people with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Joe Murad, president and CEO of the pharmacy benefit manager WithMe Health, talks about how consumer-driven healthcare requires access, transparency, and easier navigation.

Researchers writing in Health Affairs have found that new patents for updated devices have delayed generic competition in asthma and COPD treatments.

A generic is available for one, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has removed two others from Medicare Part D coverage.

Amvuttra is expected to launch in July, and the developer, Alnylam, plans to make this available through value-based agreements.

Olumiant is the first systemic therapy available to treat alopecia.

In February 2022, the FDA had issued a complete response letter in order to inspect a new third-party packaging and labeling facility.

If approved, beti-cel will be the first potentially curative gene therapy for people with beta-thalassemia who require regular red blood cell transfusions. The PDUFA date is Aug. 19, 2022.

If approved, elivaldogene autotemcel will be the first gene therapy to address the underlying genetic cause of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare disease that affects young boys.

Efanesoctocog alfa is a new class of factor VIII therapy with once-weekly prophylactic dosing. The application for approval expected to be filed mid year.

The recalls were made because the medications failed sterility testing.

Two studies conducted by AllianceRx Walgreens Prime call attention to the importance of adherence for reducing risk of negative health outcomes and financial costs.

Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated 90.4% efficacy with a low number of serious and severe adverse events, including myocarditis.

In some cases, the exclusions favored brand medicines that were more expensive than the excluded generics.

This trend in prescription drug pricing outpaces growth in prices for other healthcare services.

The commission will review PBM business practices, including the impact of rebates on formulary design, the costs of prescription drugs to patients, and methods to determine pharmacy reimbursement.

A more accurate number of rare diseases is more than 10,000, and just 500 of these disorders have treatment options available for patients, according to RARE-X.

Xcenda’s review of the three largest PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx—finds they are excluding medicines in classes where generics are not available or for serious conditions, such as oncology and autoimmune disorders.