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

The FDA's recent approval of the first medication specifically aimed at treating postpartum depression is drawing a favorable response from clinicians, while payers could face challenges.

PBM executives tell AIS Health that the postpartum depression drug, Zulresso (brexanolone) injection, is likely to be covered under the medical, not the pharmacy, side of the benefit.

 

Topics: Specialty, Market Access, Product Release, Provider, Payer

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

Since its launch in 2018, Civica Rx, the new not-for-profit generic drug and pharmaceutical company run by health systems and hospitals, tells AIS Health it has made solid progress in its ongoing effort to address persistent shortages of certain drugs administered within hospitals' four walls.

According to Civica spokesperson Debbi Ford, Civica first aims to provide 14 vital drugs, "mostly sterile injectables such as anesthesia medications, antibiotics, and pain medications and expects to deliver these products this year," she says.

 

Topics: Industry Trends, Product Release, Data & Analytics, Provider, Payer

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, Product Release, Provider, Payer

Biosimilars are one way that payers had hoped to bring down spending on pharmaceuticals, but as of yet, these products have had little impact in the United States. As of mid-January, the FDA had approved 17 biosimilars, but only a handful actually are available in the U.S. However, the products may pick up more traction in 2019, with some significant ones potentially coming to market, AIS Health reported.

According to Lynn Nishida, R.Ph., vice president of clinical product at WithMe Health, "More biosimilars are in the pipeline, but, sadly, expect continued issues of patent litigations that delay marketing of biosimilars soon after their approval or force biosimilar manufacturers to consider launching products at risk" before a lawsuit has been settled, potentially setting themselves up to be responsible for paying damages if they lose the case.

 

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

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.

 

Topics: Specialty, Industry Trends, Product Release, Provider, Payer

The specialty pharmacy and infusion therapy spaces have certainly seen their share of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity over the years. Some challenges within those industries may have helped slow down 2018 activity a bit, observes Reg Blackburn, managing director at The Braff Group. And for 2019, we may see more of the same, AIS Health reported.

As far as specialty pharmacy trends in 2018, Blackburn points out that "the largest specialty pharmacies continue to get even larger. Payer- and chain-owned dominate. Most new entity growth is coming from large academic hospitals starting their own specialty pharmacies."

 

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

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, Product Release, Provider, Payer

Biosimilars are one way that payers had hoped to bring down spending on pharmaceuticals, but as of yet, these products have had little impact in the United States. As of mid-January, the FDA had approved 17 biosimilars, but only a handful actually are available in the U.S. However, the products may pick up more traction in 2019, with some significant ones potentially coming to market, AIS Health reported.

According to Lynn Nishida, R.Ph., vice president of clinical product at WithMe Health, "More biosimilars are in the pipeline, but, sadly, expect continued issues of patent litigations that delay marketing of biosimilars soon after their approval or force biosimilar manufacturers to consider launching products at risk" before a lawsuit has been settled, potentially setting themselves up to be responsible for paying damages if they lose the case.

 

Topics: Specialty, Product Release