Specialty Pharmacy

The average price of new drugs at launch is steadily increasing, making the case for their early management that much stronger, noted Christine Strahl of HealthPartners at the 2012 PBMI Drug Benefit Conference.

Health insurer Anthem pulled the plug on a policy in California that would require patients to get their specialty drugs through the mail.

Peter Wickersham, senior vice president of cost of care at Prime Therapeutics, revealed at this year's PBMI Drug Benefit Conference how to best structure benefit design and formulary to reduce specialty drug costs.

Armada Health Care, founding sponsor of The Specialty Pharmacy Association of America (SPAARx), the largest national association representing the broad interests of the specialty pharmacy industry, today released its definition of specialty pharmacy.

Results from the second annual Specialty Drug Benefit survey reveal that plan sponsors still know very little about specialty drug spending. Transparency of specialty pharmacy rebates, specialty copay assistance programs, and the selection of lower-cost sites of care are expected to be topics of increased interest in the coming year.

ICORE today released the third annual detailed drug trend report on medicines administered by providers and billed under the medical benefit.

The FDA approved Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), a new therapy for patients with HER2-positive, late-stage (metastatic) breast cancer.

A recent study found that transplant pharmacology experts working in specialty pharmacy programs positively influence patient adherence to immunosuppressive agents.

Specialty Pharmacy Times announces the addition of a new department, Oncology Trends. This section will focus on the management of oncology medications under the pharmacy and medical benefits, clinical pathways, pharmacogenomic and companion testing, and clinical practice guidelines in oncology.

Specialty Pharmacy Times spoke with Dr. Neubauer to discuss the intricacies of clinical pathways, including how to reconcile a drug's cost and benefits, the importance of making evidence-based decisions, when to deviate from recommended treatment pathways, and why he thinks all health plans should pay for the routine costs of clinical trials.

The utilization of biologics for rheumatoid arthritis and the management of the condition by specialty pharmacies are examined in 2 new studies from The American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits and The American Journal of Managed Care.

BioMed Intelligence, Inc (BMI) unveiled RxVector, BMI's new pharmacy management system specifically designed to address the unique challenges encountered by specialty pharmacies.

Specialty RN Source announced that it has entered into an agreement with Accurate Rx to provide specialty nursing services nationwide.

A newly reintroduced bipartisan bill called the Patient Access to Treatments Act 2013 seeks to help eliminate specialty tiers in commercial health insurance plans.

The FDA approved Pomalyst (pomalidomide) to treat patients with multiple myeloma whose disease progressed after being treated with other cancer drugs.

URAC, the industry leader in Case Management accreditation, seeks public comment for revisions to its Case Management Accreditation standards and performance measures, and proposed optional standards for its new Enhanced Transitions of Care Designation.

Legislators in at least 10 states are rushing to introduce pharmacy law that would govern the use of biosimilar substitution-but without further FDA guidance on interchangeability, physicians may be less likely to switch patients to lower-cost alternatives.

This short video from Avella explains the role of specialty pharmacies and how they serve their patients.

GlaxoSmithKline announced its support for the AllTrials campaign, which calls for the registration of clinical trials and the disclosure of clinical trial results and clinical study reports, in order to help drive further scientific understanding.

The FDA approved Ravicti (glycerol phenylbutyrate) for the chronic management of some urea cycle disorders in patients 2 years and older.

The FDA approved Kynamro, a new drug for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia that relies on antisense RNA.

Armada Health Care (Armada) announced the formation of the Specialty Pharmacy Association of America (SPAARx), a free-standing, national organization representing the professional and business interests of the specialty pharmacy industry.

Proponents of companion diagnostics say that although these tests are the keystone of personalized medicine, there are many potential roadblocks to their practical implementation.

Updates to this invaluable industry guide include new portions pertaining to specialty pharmaceuticals, comparative effectiveness research, and companion diagnostics tests, as well as a new definition for the term "specialty pharmacy."

Research proceedings from the 2nd Annual Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy (FMCP) Research Symposium: Contemporary Applications for Specialty Pharmacy are now available online.

McKesson Specialty Health and The US Oncology Network today announced that Marcus Neubauer, MD, has accepted the position of medical director, Oncology Services for McKesson Specialty Health, to continue his work on pathways development.

The FDA today approved a new use of Gleevec (imatinib) to treat children newly diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The Arizona Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Avella Specialty Pharmacy announce they will present a day of discussion about the latest advancements, trends, and management of oral chemotherapy medications on February 9, 2013.

The FDA today expanded the approved use of Exjade (deferasirox) to treat patients 10 years and older who have chronic iron overload resulting from a genetic blood disorder called nontransfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT).

A new report from The Analysis Group created with PhRMA's support highlights how biopharmaceutical industry strategy is shifting from a "me-too" to a "me-first" paradigm.