Drug Channels delivers timely analysis and provocative opinions from Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., the country's foremost expert on pharmaceutical economics and the drug distribution system. Drug Channels reaches an engaged, loyal and growing audience of more than 100,000 subscribers and followers. Learn more...
Bello! The hot and hazy days of summer are here. Go for a swim to cool off and then enjoy this refreshing selection of articles chosen by Drug Channels para tu.
Did the FTC’s compelling interim report prove its case?
GoodRx joins the Humira biosimilar price war with Boehringer Ingelheim
Averon revealed to be a new buying group for biosimilars for CVS Health and Cardinal Health
Why the IRA will be bad news for 340B hospitals
Plus, the June 2024 update to my all-time favorite chart. Muak muak muak!
Have you requested an invite to the inaugural Drug Channels Leadership Forum? Attendance will be highly limited, so apply now. Full agenda coming in early September!
Experts from across the US come together each year to conquer the complex, ever-evolving MDRP regulatory guidelines and accelerate their careers by sourcing world-class content alongside everyone who matters in Medicaid.
Join Informa Connect in Chicago on September 23-25 for the 2024 Medicaid Drug Rebate Program Summit. You’ll benefit from three days of learning, education and networking, and will return to the office having mastered regulatory guidelines to deliver compliant government pricing and reporting programs.
More than 100 world class speakers are slated to present deep dive sessions, workshops and panels covering these topics and more:
State of the Industry Panel - Covington & Burling, Healthcare Leadership Council, NORD, PhRMA and Horizon Government Affairs discuss modeling potential outcomes post-election.
State Dispute Resolution Meetings - Manufacturers and States come together to discuss issues or questions related to rebates, reporting and more. Confirmed states include: Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • District of Columbia • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Louisiana • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Montana • Nebraska • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • Nevada • North Carolina • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • Tennessee • Virginia • Wisconsin.
Best Practices and Policy Ideas Town Hall - Listen in on an open dialogue covering processing claims, bid cycles, P&T meetings, reimbursement and more, led by Gainwell Technologies, Gilead Sciences, IL HFS Medicaid Drug Rebate Unit, AstraZeneca, and Conduent.
Ask the Attorneys Panel - Join this open Q&A with external counsel from Sidley Austin LLP and Latham & Watkins to get answers to your most challenging questions.
OIG Address - The Office of the Inspector General reviews recent OIG evaluations involving prescription drug pricing, payment and coverage.
Two Sessions from HRSA - Key Updates from HRSA’s Office of Pharmacy Affairs on the 340B Program and HRSA 340B Program Manufacturer Audit Process.
Workshops and Tracks throughout the Summit Covering GP 101, GTN Best Practices, Practical Strategies for Emerging, Small, and Mid-Sized Companies, State Drug Price Transparency, 340B, IRA, Tech and AI, State Level Trends, GP Recalculations across Government Programs, Smoothing Program Updates, and PDAB and SPTR Best Practices.
Back by Popular Demand - Closed Door Executive Strategy Summit!
View the agenda for the MDRP Summit to see the complete picture – the program, speakers, and more, and visit www.informaconnect.com/MDRPSummit for further details and to register. Drug Channels readers will save 10% off when they use code 24DRCH10 and register prior to August 23, 2024.*
*Cannot be combined with other offers or used towards a current registration. Cannot be combined with special category rates or other offers. Other restrictions may apply.
The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of HMP Omnimedia, LLC, Drug Channels Institute, its parent company, or any of its employees. To find out how you can promote an event on Drug Channels, please contact Paula Fein(paula@DrugChannels.net).
Today’s guest post comes from Joshua Guinter, Vice President of Channel Strategy and Product Access at Cencora.
Josh discusses the importance of a customized channel strategy for manufacturers. He outlines four key considerations that will ensure a successful strategy.
It’s time for Drug Channels’ annual update on pricing at the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers.
This year’s review includes the following 10 companies: Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Takeda, Teva, and UCB. You can find links to each company’s data below.
These data remain inconvenient for drug pricing flat earthers (#DPFE):
When rebates and discounts were factored in, brand-name drug prices again declined—or grew slowly—in 2023. For the companies that experienced net price gains in their portfolios, net prices grew more slowly than—or only slightly faster than—the overall inflation rate.
Rebates and discounts reduced the selling prices of brand-name drugs at the biggest drugmakers to less than half of their list prices.
For the eight companies with multiple years of data, the gross-to-net difference in price changes remained sizable. See the second chart below.
As I noted last week, multiple forces are poised to pop the gross-to-net bubble for high-list/high-rebate products. Insulin has been the first to deflate—and the Humira biosimilar market may be next. Journey with me to Bikini Bottom as we delve into the murky waters of gross-to-net drug pricing at the biggest drugmakers.
Today’s guest post comes from Greg Skalicky, President, EVERSANA; Krista Pinto, President, Deployment Solutions, EVERSANA; and Faruk Abdullah, President, Professional Services & Chief Business Officer, EVERSANA
Greg, Krista, and Faruk explain how and why integrated delivery networks (IDNs) have become crucial stakeholders for drug commercialization. They outline a two-pronged strategy to help brand teams thrive in today’s IDN landscape.
PBMs’ negotiating leverage against pharmaceutical manufacturers has been a key factor inflating the gross-to-net bubble—the ever-growing dollar gap between sales at brand-name drugs’ list prices and their sales at net prices after rebates, discounts, and other reductions.
For 2023, DCI estimates that the total value of manufacturers’ gross-to-net reductions for all brand-name drugs was $334 billion. (As we describe below, our latest estimates make a crucial change in the presentation of these figures compared with previous editions.)
Multiple forces are poised to pop the gross-to-net bubble for high-list/high-rebate products. This will force PBMs to further evolve their business models, while challenging plan sponsors and the FTC to follow the dollars.
Alas, patients remain caught in the drug channel's murky waters. I still can’t predict when SpongeBob SquarePants departs from Drug Channels—although I wish him a happy 25th birthday!
Today’s guest post comes from Gavin Magaha, Senior Director of External Affairs and Policy at Kalderos.
Gavin discusses the three key reasons for duplicate discounts between the 340B Drug Pricing Program and the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. He then explains Oregon’s novel approach to fixing the problem.
The econowonks at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the latest projections for U.S. spending on healthcare. (See links below.) These data provide the latest official look at how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will affect U.S. healthcare spending.
As you will see below, CMS projects that outpatient prescription drugs dispensed by retail and mail pharmacies will remain a small share of total U.S. healthcare spending. The Inflation Reduction Act’s changes to the Medicare Part D program, along with coming demographic shifts, will have a significant impact on future spending by government programs and consumers.
Nonetheless, taxpayers—primarily via Medicare and Medicaid—will continue to dominate the employer-sponsored insurance market. Like it or not, vertically integrated insurers, PBMs, specialty pharmacies, and providers will continue to prosper.
