Infusion Therapy

As President Joe Biden’s administration nears its end, two promised rules on copayment accumulators and maximizers have yet to be released. They stand to have a huge impact on whether pharma manufacturer-provided patient assistance — much of which is provided for specialty drugs — must be counted toward patients’ out-of-pocket responsibility.

The first concerns a lawsuit over the 2021 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) and its stance toward copay accumulators.

Health plans and PBMs several years ago began implementing accumulators to counter manufacturer copay assistance programs. Traditionally, that assistance would count toward beneficiaries’ annual out-of-pocket expenses. When those out-of-pocket maximums were reached, health plans would cover the remainder of members’ costs for the year. With accumulators, patients can still use that assistance, but it does not help reduce their out-of-pocket costs.

A newly approved immune globulin for primary immunodeficiency will bring another option to a class of products that often is plagued by shortages. It is also a crowded space, and payers have several considerations when deciding on the coverage of these agents, say industry experts.

On June 13, the FDA approved Grifols Group company Biotest AG’s Yimmugo (immune globulin intravenous, human-dira) for the treatment of primary humoral immunodeficiency in people at least 2 years old. Dosing via intravenous infusion is every three to four weeks, with the first infusion started at 0.5 mg/kg per minute and increasing up to 3.0 mg/kg per minute; afterwards, the maintenance infusion rate is 13 mg/kg per minute. The dosage can be adjusted over time to achieve the desired trough levels and clinical response.

While home infusion has been an option for patients for decades, the space continues to evolve. Within this landscape, providers must successfully execute the contracting process with PBMs and government and commercial insurers, navigating various pitfalls along the way.

Attorney Jesse Dresser, a partner in law firm Frier Levitt’s life sciences department who heads the firm’s pharmacy practice group and frequently helps pharmacies and pharmacy providers on issues with payers and PBMs, moderated a panel discussion titled “Strategies for Successful Payer and PBM Contracts in Home Infusion” at the National Home Infusion Association’s (NHIA) annual conference, held March 23 through 27 in Austin, Texas.

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. said on April 4 that it was voluntarily discontinuing the marketing authorization for Relyvrio (sodium phenylbutyrate and taurursodiol) in the U.S. and in Canada, where it is known as Albrioza. As part of a restructuring, the company also is laying off about 70% of its workforce. The FDA approved the agent for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on Sept. 29, 2022, based on data from a Phase II trial involving 137 people. But on March 8, the company revealed that its Phase III PHOENIX trial did not meet the prespecified primary or secondary endpoints. Prior to the drug’s approval, the FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory committee found that the study did not provide substantial evidence that the therapy was effective, but during a second meeting in September reversed course in favor of approval. At the time of Relyvrio’s approval, Amylyx co-founder and co-CEO Justin Klee declared that “if the PHOENIX trial is not successful, we will do what's right for patients, which includes taking the drug voluntarily off the market.” The company will not allow any new prescriptions for the drug, but it will transition current patients who wish to remain on treatment with Relyvrio to a free drug program. Amylyx will present topline data from the PHOENIX trial at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Denver on April 16.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s (ICER’s) new president and CEO Sarah Emond took over the role from the organization’s longtime leader and founder Steve Pearson on Jan. 1, and in an interview at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, she discussed some of the pressing drug pricing issues on ICER’s radar for the year ahead.

Emond has had a lengthy career at ICER, having worked for the organization for 14 years — most recently as vice president and chief operating officer, helping to lead strategic operations. She said the leadership change was part of a long and planned transition and Pearson continues to work as an advisor.

Elevance Health, Inc. has agreed to acquire infusion services provider Paragon Healthcare, Inc., the health insurer said Jan. 4. The companies did not disclose financial details of the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2024. Paragon Healthcare serves more than 35,000 people at more than 40 ambulatory infusion centers in eight states, as well as in the home setting, and it treats more than 300 conditions. Once the deal is finalized, Paragon Healthcare will operate as part of CarelonRx, which is the pharmacy segment within Elevance Health’s Carelon health services division. The deal follows Elevance Health’s acquisition of BioPlus, a specialty pharmacy subsidiary of CarepathRx, a portfolio company of Nautic Partners, which it closed in February 2023.

Hizentra (immune globulin subcutaneous [human] 20% liquid) is now available in a 10 g prefilled syringe, manufacturer CSL Behring disclosed Jan. 3. The agent is the first and only subcutaneous immune globulin treatment approved for the maintenance of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in the U.S. It also is approved for primary immunodeficiency in people at least 2 years old. In addition to the new size, the drug also is available in 1 g, 2 g and 4 g prefilled syringes.

The FDA recently approved the first biosimilar of Actemra (tocilizumab) from Genentech USA, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, for multiple indications. Both payers and rheumatologists responding to a Zitter Insights survey said they expected the new drug to have some impact on their management of and prescribing for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the drug’s lack of an additional formulation may hurt its uptake, say industry sources.

On Sept. 29, the FDA approved Bio-Thera and Biogen Inc.’s Tofidence (tocilizumab-bavi) intravenous formulation for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to at least one disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), people at least 2 years old with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and people at least 2 years old with active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Dosing of the intravenous infusion is based on the indication.

The FDA recently approved the first biosimilar of Actemra (tocilizumab) from Genentech USA, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, for multiple indications. Both payers and rheumatologists responding to a Zitter Insights survey said they expected the new drug to have some impact on their management of and prescribing for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

On Sept. 29, the FDA approved Bio-Thera and Biogen Inc.’s Tofidence (tocilizumab-bavi) intravenous formulation for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to at least one disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, people at least 2 years old with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and people at least 2 years old with active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Dosing of the intravenous infusion is based on the indication.

The FDA recently approved the first biosimilar for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS): Tyruko (natalizumab-sztn) from Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp. subsidiary Sandoz Inc. The drug is entering a fairly crowded class, and payers have said they expect it to have a moderate impact on their management of the other agents available to treat the condition.

On Aug. 24, the FDA approved Tyruko for the treatment of two indications: (1) adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, including clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease and active secondary progressive disease, and (2) adults with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease with evidence of inflammation who have had an inadequate response to, or are unable to tolerate, conventional Crohn’s therapies and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors.

Eisai Co., Ltd. and its partner Biogen, Inc. crossed over the biggest barrier in their quest to commercialize Leqembi (lecanemab) now that Medicare will cover the cost of the Alzheimer’s disease drug. The next hurdles for doctors and patients will be obtaining blood tests and PET scans for confirming amyloid pathology in the brain, genetic testing to assess APOE4 status, MRIs to monitor for amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) and infusion centers to administer the medicine — facilities that exist, but not in the numbers and locations needed to serve all of the US patients eligible for treatment.

CMS said that it will cover the cost of Leqembi on July 6, the day that the FDA converted the amyloid protofibril-targeting antibody’s accelerated approval for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) into full approval. Eisai and others believe that while uptake of Leqembi will be slow as the health care system catches up with the diagnostic, monitoring and infusion requirements associated with the therapy, Medicare coverage gives providers the confidence they need to offer those services.