Radar on Drug Benefits
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OptumRx Flags 5 Drugs to Watch At Close of ‘Evolutionary’ Year
In a move that demonstrates just how quickly things can change in the prescription drug world, one of the five drugs featured in OptumRx’s latest quarterly Drug Pipeline Insights Report was rejected by the FDA not long after the report went live in late November. But an expert from the UnitedHealth Group-owned PBM says the other four drugs highlighted in the report remain worth watching — including one that just got the FDA’s blessing.
The rejected drug in question is plinabulin, which was being developed to prevent chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) — a condition in which patients have an abnormally low amount of a certain type of white blood cell. The FDA sent a response letter to plinabulin’s manufacturer, BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, on Dec. 1, stating that the results of a single registrational trial conducted by the company was not sufficiently robust to demonstrate the drug’s benefit and that a second, well-controlled trial “would be required to satisfy the substantial evidence requirement to support the CIN indication,” according to the drugmaker.
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News Briefs: Monoclonal Antibodies Yield Mixed Results Against Omicron | Dec. 22, 2021
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 has “diminished potency” when used against the omicron variant, while AstraZeneca plc’s antibody product “retained neutralizing activity” against the new variant. The antibody treatments remain the standard of care for unvaccinated COVID-19 patients with severe disease. Regeneron emphasized that its treatment is effective against the delta variant. However, omicron has become the dominant variant in recent days: the Associated Press reported 73% of new infections last week were omicron.
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Studies: Spending on Accelerated Approval Drugs Is Growing Fast
The FDA’s accelerated approval pathway for experimental therapies has been criticized by practitioners and health insurers in recent months following the controversial approval of Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm (aducanumab). Aduhelm is just the latest of many experimental therapies that has been approved with limited clinical evidence of efficacy — and payers and independent researchers say the FDA should revamp the process to contain costs.
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Report Trains Critical Eye on PBMs’ Changing Profit Streams
A new report about PBMs’ “evolving business models and revenue” is making a stir, with the main PBM trade group arguing that the organization behind it is biased and its conclusions are misguided. But industry observers tell AIS Health that the analysis offers illuminating information about how vertical integration and other factors have shaped the PBM sector — and they warn that PBMs must truly change if they are to survive increasing scrutiny.
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Express Scripts Will Combine Coupons With Pharmacy Benefit
Express Scripts, the PBM subsidiary of Cigna Corp., will allow members to combine prescription drug coupons with their traditional pharmacy benefits. Pharmacy insiders tell AIS Health that the new offering is likely meant to head off competition from GoodRx Inc. and other upstarts.
A November blog post on the website of Evernorth, the Cigna subsidiary that owns Express Scripts, explains that around 2% of the time, discount pricing “is a little better” than the price offered when customers use their insurance.
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