Panelists discuss how subcutaneous administration enhances patient satisfaction by reducing venipuncture trauma and wait times, creates cost savings through eliminated IV supplies and shortened chair occupancy, enables higher infusion center throughput, and garners strong nursing support due to reduced patient distress during administration.
An expert discusses how improving shingles vaccination rates relies on patient education; effective use of technology like EHRs to identify eligible individuals; and persistent, multichannel communication by pharmacists to encourage vaccination and address barriers such as cost and awareness.
An expert discusses how low shingles vaccination rates stem from gaps in patient education, cost concerns, and access barriers, emphasizing that clear communication about vaccine efficacy, reduced out-of-pocket costs, and targeted outreach are key to increasing uptake, especially among older and rural populations.
Panelists discuss how implementing subcutaneous checkpoint inhibitors requires navigating temporary J-codes and reimbursement delays, considering economic impacts on institutional revenue streams, building indication-specific electronic treatment plans, and adopting provider-driven rather than mandated prescribing approaches while anticipating future dynamics including biosimilar competition and Inflation Reduction Act implications.
Subcutaneous amivantamab demonstrated robust activity in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma previously treated with checkpoint inhibitors and platinum chemotherapy.
The combination significantly improved event-free and overall survival compared with surgery alone, marking the first study to show an overall survival benefit in this patient population.
The phase 3 trial demonstrated significant improvements in overall and progression-free survival, reinforcing the combination as a standard-of-care option across MMR subgroups.
Sara Assaf, MD, shares insights on selecting biologic therapies for severe asthma, including biomarkers, patient factors, and managing nonresponders effectively.
The FDA's approval of GLP-1 for obstructive sleep apnea enhances treatment options, emphasizing pharmacists' vital role in patient care and management.
Panelists discuss how the MK-3475A-D77 trial demonstrated subcutaneous pembrolizumab’s pharmacokinetic comparability and equivalent efficacy to IV formulation in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer receiving combination chemotherapy, with administration requiring approximately 2 minutes for 5 mL volume and showing comparable safety profiles.
Panelists discuss how the IMscin001 trial established subcutaneous atezolizumab’s pharmacokinetic equivalency to IV formulation with comparable efficacy and 4.5% injection site reactions, while highlighting operational implementation challenges, including building multiple indication-specific order sets and standardizing varying administration times across different subcutaneous products.
Panelists discuss how subcutaneous nivolumab demonstrates reassuring safety profiles with minimal grade 3 and 4 adverse events comparable to those of IV formulation, produces pharmacokinetically equivalent or slightly higher drug exposure, and shows numerically similar or higher objective response rates, making patient education about injection site reactions the primary consideration.
Panelists discuss how the CheckMate67T trial demonstrated pharmacokinetic noninferiority and comparable efficacy and safety between subcutaneous and IV nivolumab, with subcutaneous administration requiring only 3 to 5 minutes vs 30-minute infusions and showing mild, transient injection site reactions in approximately 8% of patients.
Samantha Picking, PharmD, outlines how Walgreens enhances immunization access through digital innovation, patient engagement, and ongoing pharmacist training.
Balazs Halmos, MD, discusses how the COPERNICUS trial aims to build on previous amivantamab studies.
In the ARANOTE trial, darolutamide combined with ADT significantly delayed disease progression and maintained quality of life for patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, supporting its use as a chemotherapy-free option.
Nicoletta Colombo, MD, PhD, discusses why metronomic chemotherapy dosing and careful regimen design may have driven the success of the KEYNOTE-B96 trial.
Datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk improved duration of response by roughly 5 months compared with chemotherapy in first-line mTNBC.
At ESMO 2025, Felix Guerrero-Ramos, MD, discussed SunRISe-1 data showing durable responses and low toxicity with TAR-200, the importance of training in device management, and how future biomarker research may refine patient selection and combination strategies.
Andrea Necchi, MD, shared SunRISe-4 primary results demonstrating higher pathologic response and relapse-free survival rates with TAR-200 plus sacituzumab compared with checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy, with no new safety signals observed.
Stephen Freedland, MD, highlighted data showing significant overall survival benefits in the EMBARK trial and discussed the continued role of monotherapy in preserving quality of life for select patients.
Thor Halfdanarson, MD, discussed early results showing favorable response rates and manageable safety with ^212Pb-VMT-α-NET, along with the role of PET imaging in optimizing patient selection for future trials.
Felix Guerrero-Ramos, MD, outlines molecular and pharmacologic findings from SunRISe-1, including the high prevalence of TP53 alterations and the extended drug exposure achieved with the TAR-200 intravesical delivery system.
Oncologist Thor Halfdanarson reviews dose-finding data for the targeted α radioligand therapy [^212Pb]VMT- α-NET, highlighting manageable toxicity, stable renal function, and plans for phase 2 evaluation.
Pranav Garimella, MBBS, MPH, emphasizes that pharmacists are essential partners in managing chronic kidney disease, ensuring safe medication use, adherence, and coordinated care alongside physicians.
Ron Lanton outlines enforcement uncertainty and downstream effects on biosimilars, specialty drugs, and pharmacy supply chains under most favored nation pricing proposals.
Panelists discuss how evaluating quality of life in patients on CDK4/6 inhibitors requires asking open-ended questions beyond just adverse effects to assess social functioning, work capacity, and emotional well-being (with quality of life data showing these agents maintain rather than significantly improve outcomes), and how multidisciplinary care can be optimized through nurse navigators for additional patient touchpoints, coordination with subspecialty colleagues like pulmonology and cardio-oncology for rare toxicities, and utilizing learners and standardized workflows to manage the high patient volume despite limited pharmacist resources.
Panelists discuss how treatment sequencing in early-stage breast cancer requires a stepwise approach, adding one therapy at a time (typically radiation, then hormonal therapy, then CDK4/6 inhibitors, with special considerations for BRCA-positive patients receiving olaparib first), while in metastatic settings the sequencing is more straightforward with first-line CDK4/6 inhibitors plus endocrine therapy, and how patient adherence can be optimized through shared decision-making, detailed toxicity education with graded explanations, frequent health care team touchpoints especially during the challenging first 90 days, and addressing the unique adherence challenges in early-stage patients who are asymptomatic compared to metastatic patients.
Steven Pipe, MD, highlights the growing importance of pharmacists in hemophilia care as new therapies expand treatment complexity and require specialized expertise.
Canomiks enhances consumer trust in the supplement industry through WhatToTrust, a platform evaluating product safety, efficacy, and scientific validation.
