Point32Health, Takeda Sign Risk Sharing Agreement for Alunbrig

Point32Health and Takeda Pharmaceuticals have signed a risk-sharing agreement around Takeda’s Alunbrig (brigatinib), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is approved for adult patients with ALK+ metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Point32Health is the name of the health plan that was formed by the May 2021 combination of Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

The agreement will make Alunbrig broadly available to Point32Health’s more than two million members. The agreement is among the first risk-sharing contracts in oncology and the first in ALK-positive NSCLC.

The only outcome that will be assessed is discontinuation of the drug within three months, according to a Point32Health spokesperson. If a patient covered by Point32Health does not remain on the drug for at least three months due to effectiveness or tolerability, a significant portion of the drug cost will be refunded to Point32Health. The spokesperson didn’t say how would be refunded.

Michael Sherman, M.D.

“Given the importance of facilitating cutting-edge oncology treatment and also the reality that not all patients show a positive response, reimbursement for oncology treatments is an area that is prime for innovative financing approaches,” Michael Sherman, M.D., chief medical officer and executive vice president, Point32Health, said in a statement.

The FDA approved Alunbrig in May 2020. At the same time, the agency also approved Vysis ALK Break Apart FISH Probe Kit from Abbott Molecular as a companion diagnostic.

Approval was based on the results of the ALTA1L trial, which randomized 275 patients to receive Alunbrig or Xalkori (crizotinib). Estimated median progression free survival for patients treated with Alunbrig was 24 months compared with 11 months for those treated with Xalkori.

A subset of the clinical samples was retrospectively tested with the Vysis test. Of the enrolled patients, 239 had positive results using the Vysis diagnostic test.