As innovations in digital capabilities continue to be used with various health care products, Proteus Digital Health, Inc. is developing a suite of what it terms digital medicines. And while the company has been working on such products for a few years, it recently came out with the first such product within the oncology space, AIS Health reported.

Proteus is partnering with Fairview Health Services and the University of Minnesota Health to offer oral capecitabine combined with an ingestible sensor to treat stage 3 and stage 4 colorectal cancer patients . 

 

Topics: Industry Trends, Data & Analytics

Magellan Rx Management saw a significant shift in utilization from Janssen Biotech, Inc.'s Remicade (infliximab) to biosimilars after it implemented a comprehensive utilization management (UM) program, resulting in 34% drug cost savings, the PBM reported.

The program, which began in late 2017, involves any patient prescribed an infliximab product for any indication, and is available to all payer clients as an opt-in option, Steve Cutts, senior vice president and general manager, tells AIS Health.

 

Topics: Industry Trends, Market Access, Data & Analytics, Provider, Payer

Amid increasing public scrutiny of rising insulin prices, some health insurers are taking matters into their own hands to help their diabetic members afford the lifesaving medications, AIS Health reported.

 

Leading PBMs, such as CVS Health Corp., Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics, also applied formulary strategies to keep insulin affordable. CVS Health reported a -1.7% trend for antidiabetic drugs in 2018, despite increasing utilization and 5.6% average wholesale price inflation for brand drugs, according to its 2018 drug trend report. 

 

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The Specialty Pharmacy Patient Choice Award was created to recognize specialty pharmacies and their commitment to patient satisfaction. The criteria for this award were formulated by a committee comprised of individuals representing pharmaceutical manufacturers, health plans, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), trade organizations, consultants and equity research firms.

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Amid increasing public scrutiny of rising insulin prices, some health insurers are taking matters into their own hands to help their diabetic members afford the lifesaving medications, AIS Health reported.

At the integrated health system HealthPartners, the members who are hardest hit by rising insulin prices are those in high-deductible health plans, says Young Fried, vice president of pharmacy plan services. But she says insulin affordability is also an issue for Medicare members who are in the Part D "doughnut hole." 

 

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With more targeted and effective therapies launching to treat a variety of cancers, much of the focus has been not only on their efficacy but their costs, particularly to payers. A recent report from the physician perspective highlights their impact as far as cost on not only those stakeholders but also the patients they serve, AIS Health reported.

The Association of Community Cancer Centers released its 2018 Trending Now in Cancer Care Survey in February. Responding to the survey were 205 individuals from community cancer centers, academic centers, teaching hospitals and independent practices.

 

Topics: Industry Trends, Data & Analytics

As innovations in digital capabilities continue to be used with various health care products, Proteus Digital Health, Inc. is developing a suite of what it terms digital medicines. And while the company has been working on such products for a few years, it recently came out with the first such product within the oncology space, AIS Health reported.

Proteus is partnering with Fairview Health Services and the University of Minnesota Health to offer oral capecitabine combined with an ingestible sensor to treat stage 3 and stage 4 colorectal cancer patients.

 

Topics: Specialty, Industry Trends, Market Access, Product Release, Data & Analytics

As many Americans continue to struggle to afford their medications, health insurers and their PBMs are responding with tools that help consumers not only understand the cost of drugs before prescriptions are filled, but also find ways to spend less money on them, AIS Health reported.

However payers choose to design such tools, two keys to their success include making improvements over time and making sure members know about them before they might need them, according to Nathan Foco, senior director of market and sales intelligence for Michigan-based Priority Health.

 

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Payers typically use tools such as prior authorization and utilization review to manage cystic fibrosis treatments, but PBM experts say they are on the cusp of implementing more innovative strategies that might help to improve adherence while addressing the cost of cystic fibrosis drugs, AIS Health reported.

Cystic fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease that attacks the lungs and digestive organs, is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. CFTR modulators and other therapies carry a high price tag, typically costing $250,000 to $368,000 per year. Other drugs, most of which do not have generic equivalents, can add tens of thousands of dollars to that total.

 

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With the FDA approving multiple novel new therapies over the past couple of years, we should expect to see more of the same moving forward. But that innovation is not cheap, and the pharmaceutical industry likely will continue to offer products at higher price points than ever before, AIS Health reported.

As payers struggle to rein in high specialty drug prices, many have turned to copay accumulator programs, and this trend shows no signs of slowing. "There was an increased focus on copay accumulator programs in 2018," comments Amy Nash, Pharm.D., president of RelianceRx, the specialty pharmacy affiliate of Independent Health. She tells AIS Health she expects to see "further refinement of copay accumulator programs from payers and additional strategies from pharma to prevent them."

 

Topics: Specialty, Industry Trends, Market Access, Product Release, Data & Analytics