Keytruda Brings New Option To Treatment of PD-L1+ TNBC
The FDA has approved only a few drugs to treat triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and last month saw Merck & Co., Inc’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) gain accelerated approval for the condition. Commercial payer...
With Oxlumo Approval, Alnylam Unveils Value-Based Program
With its third FDA approval in less than two-and-a-half years, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is bringing another orphan drug for a rare condition to the U.S. market. And similar to the first two, Oxlumo (lumasiran) ...
International-Based Pricing Model Is Not New Focus
The most-favored-nation (MFN) interim final rule issued in late November is not the first time the current administration has attempted to implement some kind of drug pricing model based on prices in other countries...
New FDA Specialty Approvals
✦ Nov. 9: The FDA expanded the label of Foundation Medicine, Inc.’s FoundationOne Liquid CDx to identify people with BRCA1, BRCA2 and/or ATM alterations in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who may...
News Briefs
✦ HHS has moved ahead with its plan to eliminate rebates to PBMs and plans in Medicare Part D. The administration issued a final rule (85 Fed. Reg. 76666, Nov. 30, 2020) providing safe harbor to rebates given to b...
Anthem Oncology P4P Program Boosted Evidence-Based Care
A recent study of Anthem’s Cancer Care Quality Program (CCQP) treatment pathways found that an enhanced reimbursement to providers who adhere to on-pathway treatment regimens increased use of the drugs without cha...
Study: ‘Drug Super Spender’ Members Doubled in Four Years
The United States is seeing a surge of innovative specialty therapeutics coming onto the market, many of which offer potential treatments for conditions that previously didn’t have one. But many of these newer the...
Cancer-Related Services Drop, Could Have Long-Lasting Impact
Years of advances in driving down cancer occurrences and deaths could be completely reversed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A recently published study shows screenings, diagnoses and treatment for various cancers dropped...
Survey: Oncologists Expect To Prescribe Onureg in AML
With the FDA’s approval last month of Onureg (azacitidine), people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) now have an oral version of a longtime injectable treatment within that class. Zitter Insights found that more t...
HOSP Forms to Advocate for Integrated Specialty Pharmacies
As the specialty pharmacy industry continues to grow, more entities within the health care system are boosting their capabilities in this area, and various health systems are implementing some form of a specialty ph...