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...
Today’s guest post comes from Shabbir Ahmed, Chief Commercial Officer at CareMetx.
Shabbir explains the barriers that providers face when dealing with branded portals for multiple products. He then maintains that patients can access new therapies more quickly when the manufacturer relies on a brand-agnostic hub connected to a large network of providers and integrated with the systems those providers use daily.
Reality has again failed to support the spin surrounding the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
For 2023, discounted purchases under the 340B program reached a record $66.3 billion—an astounding $12.6 billion (+23.4%) higher than its 2022 counterpart. The gross-to-net difference between list prices and discounted 340B purchases also grew, to $57.8 billion (+$5.5 billion). 340B purchases are now almost 40% larger than Medicaid’s prescription drug purchases.
Hospitals again accounted for 87% of 340B purchases for 2023. Purchases at every 340B covered entity type grew, despite drug prices that grew more slowly than overall inflation.
Lobbyists claim that manufacturers’ 340B contract pharmacy changes are “stripping billions of dollars from the healthcare safety net.” But every year, the data tell a very different story. Only in the U.S. healthcare system can billions more in payments and spreads be considered a cut.
Read on for full details and our analysis, along with fresh details of troubling behavior by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Pharmacy and distribution models are growing increasingly complex. Stop running in circles—It’s time to unlock proven strategies to propel market access.
What is the secret to success? Trade and Channel Strategies is bringing together industry experts to deliver specific strategies and talk best practices in tackling the latest industry challenges.
As the landscape rapidly evolves, there are only two choices—Adapt or risk falling behind. With policy changes and market fluctuations, specifically surrounding the DSCSA and IRA, the loss of exclusivity wave, adoption of low-WAC products affecting GTN and the rise of innovations within the pharmacy sector, there has never been a more important time for industry to unite. A program driven by market dynamics and led by champions of channel strategy, join your peers now to master the complexities of pharmacy and distribution models to accelerate market access—It's all happening December 10-12.
Why do trade and channel professionals choose this pivotal event?
The challenge of staying viable among shifting market dynamics while meeting business objectives is heavy. Professionals are left with many questions, including:
How will the new administration affect the distribution channel?
Is my organization haemorrhaging money to stay afloat with the shift to alternative distribution and pharmacy models?
Does the DSCSA deadline change affect my organization? Am I still prepared?
Join the experts for three dedicated days of collaborative discussions that will give you the answers to these questions and so many more. Leaders in the landscape are uniting and will dive into the top trends for innovative distribution, integrated pharmacy models and talk the truth about the future of trade.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?
Vital insights from industry’s leading pharmacy and distribution experts, including:
Bill Roth, Senior Vice President of Consulting, Blue Fin Group, An IntegriChain Company
Patrick Lupo Group Vice President, Pharmacy Trade and Specialty, Walgreens
Eliane Maalouf, Director Trade and Fulfillment, Mass General Brigham Specialty Pharmacy
Stephanie Wirkes, Head of Distribution and Strategy Execution, Bayer
John Harlow, Chief Commercial Officer, Melinta Therapeutics
Aria Cohen, Vice President, Head of Market Access, Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Elizabeth Cherry, Program Director for Trade Relations, Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy
Danielle Bryan, PharmD, CSP, Program Director, Specialty Pharmacy Trade Relations, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Thomas Scalone, Director, Trade Strategy and Operations, Bristol Myers Squibb
Dina Lynch, VP, Market Access and Reimbursement, Renibus Therapeutics
And more!
Tackle the hottest topics facing industry right now, including:
Keynote Address: Access and Channel 2024 In-Review and Preview of 2025
Pharmacy Evolved—Aligning Commercialization to the Changing Pharmacy Channel
Advanced Trade Leaders Executive Session
Navigate and Operationalize the IRA
Focused Multi-Track Offerings:
Supply Chain, Distribution and Logistics
Pharmacy Models and Reimbursement Strategies
Data, Innovation and Analytics
Health Systems and Pharma Partnering Symposium
Balancing the GTN Bubble with Market Access Priorities
What’s Happening in Retail—Brick and Morter, Home Delivery and Cash Pay Pharmacies
Navigating Post Deadline Challenges—DSCSA Compliance and Serialization Updates
Four Roundtable Breakout Discussions:
What Good Looks Like in a 3PL/Manufacturer Partnership
Optimizing Healthcare Partnerships
Women in Trade
GLP-1s and New Product Archetypes
Actions Needed to Mitigate and Prevent Drug Shortages
Case Study: Master Your Organization Chart—Ensuring Higher Cross Functional Interactions
Three Interactive Workshops:
Trade 101
Advanced Trade Leaders Executive Session
Health Systems Fundamentals
And more!
Exclusive Offer—Download the agenda and register today—Be sure to use your exclusive promo 24DC10 to save 10% off* of your registration.
See you there!
* Cannot be combined with other offers, promotions or applied to an existing registration. 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 Greg Skalicky, President, EVERSANA and Faruk Abdullah, President, Professional Services & Chief Business Officer, EVERSANA
Greg and Faruk walk through the marketplace pressures driving Direct-to-Patient commercialization models. They argue that a technology-enabled infrastructure, combined with clinical and reimbursement support specialists, can improve patients' access to new therapies, shorten the time to therapy, and enable better overall clinical outcomes.
A new survey of plan sponsors sheds light on their satisfaction with transparency at large and small pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).
As you will see, clients remain slightly more satisfied with the perceived transparency of smaller PBMs compared with the Big Three PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and Optum Rx.
However, plan sponsors are dissatisfied with transparency about how both large and small PBMs make money. Smaller PBMs have an edge, but it’s narrower than you might think.
Perhaps PBMs’ clients are unable or unwilling to negotiate better deals, write more effective contracts, and switch to more satisfying relationships. Or maybe they don’t mind the current system, despite the challenges for patients. Some argue that transparency could swoop down to solve this problem. Riddle me this: Should we watch what plan sponsors say, or what they do?
Today’s guest post comes from Angie Franks, Chief Executive Officer of Kalderos.
Angie discusses how the Maximum Fair Price provision of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will challenge providers, pharmacies, and manufacturers. She explains how Kalderos’ Truzo platform could reduce duplicate claims and address compliance issues.
As regular readers of Drug Channels know, U.S. distribution and dispensing channels for prescription drugs are undergoing significant evolution and consolidation as the changing economics of pharmaceuticals challenge conventional business models.
During this period of volatility, the core business model of the Big Three public pharmaceutical distribution companies—Cardinal Health, Cencora, and McKesson—remains intact. Put simply: Buy low, sell high, collect early, and pay late.
But as I explain below, wholesalers continue to position themselves as essential intermediaries by expanding their industry position and strengthening their economic fundamentals.
Read on for five key pricing, pharmacy, provider, and manufacturer trends that are driving the U.S. drug wholesaling industry.
Experts from across the US come together each year at the PBM Contracting Summit to gain innovative and practical contracting strategies, master PBM innovation and design, improve patient care management and rising costs, understand the current legislative issues impacting contract negotiations and more. Join us in Chicago (or virtually) where you’ll benefit from two days of learning, education and networking, and will return to the office having mastered the complex PBM landscape.
You’ll hear from Matthew Gibbs, Pharm.D., Pharmacy Transformation Leader of Blue Shield of California as he leads a comprehensive discussion on the PBM landscape over the last year, and delves into the evolving trends and emerging challenges shaping the current industry today.
Other expert and thought leaders from within the industry are slated to present deep dive sessions, workshops and panels that will answer your most pressing questions:
What are the latest legislative updates and proposed federal bills impacting PBM operations?
What's on the horizon for alternative PBMs? What are the top intricacies of rebate eligibility? What are the market impacts of innovative models such as Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs and Amazon's pharmacy model?
What can be learned from the J&J lawsuit? Review the expansion of data access and the importance of employer's fiduciary duties.
What are the challenges of vertical integration?
How do PBMs manage their contracting processes with plan sponsors to create successful contracts?
What are the most effective strategies for spread pricing and reimbursement models?
What is the best solution to navigate the challenges of the 340B drug pricing program and PBM contracting?
What is the best way to design and optimize benefits for covering GLP-1s?
How can I ensure compliance with ERISA requirements?
What are the latest developments in copay maximizer and accumulator programs?
What market dynamics and barriers are impacting pricing and demand?
What can be learned from the economic landscape of biosimilars and specialty therapeutics?
View the agenda for the PBM Contracting Summit to see the complete picture – the program, speakers, and more, visit www.informaconnect.com/pbm-contracting for further details and to register. Drug Channels readers will save 10% off when they use code 24DRCH10 and register prior to November 8, 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 Timothy Nielsen, Vice President of Customer Success at AssistRx.
Timothy discusses the affordability and patient journey challenges of specialty-lite products for patients, manufacturers, and health care providers. He explains how AssistRx's Advanced Access Anywhere (AAA) solution streamlines processes for specialty-lite products and facilitates enrollment via a digital hub.
Contrary to what you may have heard, the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) inflation rebates for Medicare Part B drugs do not always save money for seniors.
As we document below, a growing share of Part B drugs have inflation-adjusted coinsurance rates that have been increasing, not declining. In many cases, the coinsurance rate declines only briefly before rebounding back to the standard 20% rate. What’s more, these fluctuations have triggered huge jumps in patients’ out-of-pocket obligations for some drugs—even when a drug’s costs were falling.
Chalk off these coinsurance surprises to yet another unintended consequence of the IRA. Seniors who are expecting to see costs drop may find they are instead being taken for a rollercoaster ride.
The 340B contract pharmacy market shows little sign of slowing down. Drug Channels Institute’s exclusive analysis of the 2024 market reveals that:
About 33,000 pharmacy locations—more than half of the entire U.S. pharmacy industry—act as contract pharmacies for the hospitals and federal grantees that participate in the 340B program.
Five multi-billion-dollar, for-profit, publicly traded pharmacy chains and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)—Cigna (via Express Scripts), CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group (via OptumRx), and Walgreens, Walmart—continue to dominate the 340B contract pharmacy market.
Federal grantees are aligned primarily with the vertically intergated organizations' retail pharmacies, while hospitals rely on mail and specialty pharmacies.
Over the past four years, manufacturers’ restrictions on 340B contract pharmacies have led hospitals to deepen their relationships with the largest PBMs—even as those PBMs have simultaneously limited hospitals’ direct participation in specialty pharmacy networks.
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released the redacted version of administrative complaint against the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The FTC rightly calls out how the gross-to-net bubble can raise patients’ out-of-pocket costs, while also acknowledging how rebates can reduce a plan's (but not the patient’s) costs. Apparently, the FTC believes that PBMs’ customers are pretty dumb, because PBMs are able to prevent plans from “appreciating” such healthcare financing dynamics.
Section V.E. of the complaint (starting on page 23) focuses on the PBMs’ alleged unlawful conduct related to preferring high-list/high-rebate insulin products over versions with lower list prices. I thought it would therefore be fun to take the Wayback Machine to November 2021, when I wrote about this specific topic.
Below, you can review my commentary about the warped incentives behind Viatris’ dual-pricing strategy for its interchangeable biosimilar of Lantus. Much of the FTC’s description of the drug channel aligns with my commentary. But before you fist pump too hard for Ms. Khan’s FTC, you should pause to reflect on the agency’s legal theories in light of plans’ revealed preferences.
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first interchangeable biosimilar insulin product: the insulin glargine-yfgn injection from Viatris. Read the FDA’s press release.
Alas, I’m sad to report that the warped incentives baked into the U.S. drug channel will limit the impact of this impressive breakthrough.
Viatris is being forced to launch both a high-priced and a low-priced version of the biosimilar. However, only the high-list/high-rebate, branded version will be available on Express Scripts’ largest commercial formulary. Express Scripts will block both the branded reference product and the lower-priced, unbranded—but also interchangeable—version. Meanwhile, Prime Therapeutics will place both versions on its formularies, leaving the choice up to its plan sponsor clients.
Consequently, many commercial payers will adopt the more expensive product instead of the identical—but cheaper—version. As usual, patients will be the ultimate victims of our current drug pricing system.
Below, I explain the weird economics behind this decision, highlight the negative impact on patients, and speculate on what this all could mean for biosimilars’ future. Until plan sponsors break their addiction to rebates, today’s U.S. drug channel problems will remain.
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This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while we put the finishing touches on DCI’s new 
This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while we put the finishing touches on DCI’s new 
