Specialty Pharmacy

CVS Caremark report projects that transition of specialty drugs from the medical benefit to the pharmacy benefit could provide significant cost relief to payers.

Inflammatory bowel disease patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy had decreased immunogenicity to at least 1 of the 3 strains in the trivalent flu vaccine.

Treatment found to cause a delay in tumor growth during clinical trials.

Primary androgen-deprivation therapy appears not to be an effective treatment for men with clinically localized prostate cancer.

In an interview with Specialty Pharmacy Times, James E. Smeeding, executive director of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, discusses the organization's future and issues in the specialty marketplace.

Newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia patients may be more likely to achieve major molecular response if they receive nilotinib therapy, a new study suggests.

In a phase II trial, combination treatment with simeprevir and sofosbuvir yields functional cure rates exceeding 90% in patients receiving 12 weeks of therapy-even among difficult-to-treat patients.

Study finds aspirin improves survival outcomes only for patients with HLA class I antigen expression.

Suzanne Tschida, PharmD, BCPS, vice president of specialty benefit and outcomes strategy at OptumRx, talks about promoting patient adherence.

Celgene's Abraxane is expected to drive expansion of pancreatic cancer therapeutics market.

The new design may potentially improve adherence and outcomes for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Study suggests that standard dose of GnRH antagonist clears out of obese women's systems more quickly than in normal-weight women.

Bristol-Myers Squibb submitted NDAs for daclatasvir and asunaprevir. Although asunaprevir is limited to treatment of genotype-1 HCV, a combination of daclatasvir with sofosbuvir may be useful in a range of HCV genotypes.

Express Scripts Senior Clinical Consultant Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, discusses specialty pharmacy treatment options for 2014 and beyond.

Patients with accelerated-phase chronic myeloid leukemia at diagnosis may benefit from immediate tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy rather than alternate treatments.

Efficacy of standard dose can be suboptimal in patients with hepatitis C, study shows.

Service to dispense oral oncolytics to patients shows positive results, doctors say.

Patients taking Rebif (interferon beta-1a) may ask specialty pharmacists about recent reports of an increased risk of malignant hypertension with this specific formulation of interferon beta-1a.

National Association of Specialty Pharmacy brings together hundreds of stakeholders to discuss the rapidly changing special medication landscape.

Complexity of specialty drugs leads most health plans to create specific rules for coverage, cost share, and benefit management, survey indicates.

Fewer opioid treatment centers are offering HIV testing to patients, and are testing fewer patients overall, a recent study suggests.

A study of renal denervation therapy may have been underpowered to detect important improvements in blood pressure control over a 6-month period.

Patients with co-infection are 80% more likely to have serious liver disease than patients with hepatitis C alone, study finds.

Early results of a phase-1/-2a indicate that an infused monoclonal antibody treatment may target the abnormal cells associated with multiple myeloma while stimulating an immune response.

Apremilast (Otezla) is the first oral therapy FDA approved to improve signs and symptoms, including physical functioning for patients with this condition.

Researchers in the United Kingdom have shown a reduction in the rate of brain atrophy progression with use of 80-mg simvastatin daily in patients with secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis over a 2-year period.

Incidence rates decreased 3% per year last decade thanks in part to timely screening tests, report says.