Welcome to the weekly edition of RxStrategies Clinical Insights, designed to help pharmacy professionals stay up to date on the ever-changing pharmaceutical and pharmacy market place.
New Drug Approval
No new updates.
New Indication Approval
Blincyto® (blinatumomab) – New Expanded Indication Approval – July 11, 2017 – Amgen announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Blincyto® (blinatumomab) to include overall survival (OS) data from the Phase 3 TOWER study. The approval expands the indication of Blincyto® for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor ALL in adults and children. Read More
New Drug Shortage
July 12, 2017
- Sodium Chloride 0.9% Injection Bags (New – Currently in Shortage)
July 7, 2017
- Molindone Hydrochloride Tablets (New – Currently in Shortage)
New Drug Recall Alert
No new updates.
News First Time Generic
No new updates.
Clinical and Pharmacy News
How to Make the Pharmacist Part of Your Practice’s Team – July 14, 2017 – When patients require further guidance outside of the office, such as with medication management or directives, a team-based approach can help practices improve outcomes. However, some often missed key partners are pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Read More>
ACC, AHA Update Guidelines on Management of Valvular Heart Disease – July 14, 2017 – The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have released updated recommendations on the treatment of patients with valvular heart disease to reflect the latest research published since the 2014 guidelines. Read More>
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Launches DIR Fee Estimator Tool – July 14, 2017 – Good Neighbor Pharmacy on Friday announced a new tool for independent pharmacists designed to help them plan around direct and indirect remuneration, or DIR, fees and hidden cash flow issues surrounding them. Read More>
Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotic May Reduce Costs, Increase Adherence in Schizophrenia – July 13, 2017 – Researchers found that adults recently diagnosed with schizophrenia being treated with once-monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP1M), a long-acting injectable antipsychotic, had significantly lower medical costs compared with participants taking oral atypical antipsychotics (OAAs). Read More>
Is There a Pharmacist in the House? PCPs Love their Pharmacists – July 12, 2017 – Pharmacists’ roles are expanding from traditional retail settings, allowing them to be more involved in patient care than ever before. Clinical pharmacists run disease state management clinics, provide medication therapy management (MTM), and more in primary care settings. Read More>
Price Transparency Is Critical to Drug Pricing Solutions – July 12, 2017 – Prescription drug costs are a hot political issue, not as much because of the share of the U.S. health care dollar they consume but because consumers pay a larger share of their drug costs out of pocket than they do for other health care. Read More>
Whichever Way ‘Repeal And Replace’ Blows, Pharma Is Due For Windfall – July 12, 2017 – The pharmaceutical industry could see windfall profits from a little-noticed tweak to the insurance market tucked into the Trump administration’s draft executive order on drug prices, experts say. Read More>
Insurers Cite Cost as Top Factor in Covering Biosimilars – July 11, 2017 – Biosimilars are gaining acceptance by the health insurance industry, according to a new Avalere report. A survey of 45 health plans shows 81 percent of plans are covering at least one of two biosimilar products currently on the market, according to a survey of health insurers. Read More>
Price Transparency Is Critical to Drug Pricing Solutions – July 11, 2017 – Prescription drug costs are a hot political issue, not as much because of the share of the U.S. health care dollar they consume but because consumers pay a larger share of their drug costs out of pocket than they do for other health care. Read More>
Pharmacy ‘Clawbacks’ Targeted in Latest State Law Aimed at PBMs – July 11, 2017 – A new law in Connecticut would close a drug price loophole that’s been the subject of more than a dozen lawsuits around the U.S., taking aim at a practice by pharmacy benefit managers called pharmacy clawbacks. Read More>
Provider Profitability Drops Under Biosimilar Use Reimbursement – July 10, 2017 – Biosimilar use could be the key to lowering healthcare costs associated with biologic treatments, but provider profitability may suffer by as much as $100 million across care settings if providers continue to administer the low-cost alternative, a recent Navigant analysis. Read More>
340B in the News
Lucrative Drug Discount Program Gets Attention of Congress – July 14, 2017 – A lucrative drug discount program that is a lifeline for charity hospitals and a money-maker for some health systems will be the subject of a congressional hearing next week. The 340B program requires drug makers participating in the Medicaid program to give deep discounts on outpatient drugs to hospitals that treat low-income patients. Read More>
Hospital Abuse of Drug Discount Program Leaves Seniors in The Lurch – July 13, 2017 – To say the American healthcare system is complex is certainly an understatement. When even one healthcare program is not working, it affects us all. Seniors and lawmakers understand the importance of Medicare and work tirelessly to defend it, but we must also work to ensure that waste, fraud, and abuse have no place in the broader healthcare market. Read More>
U.S. Proposes Deep Cuts to Some Drug Payments Under Medicare – July 13, 2017 – The U.S. Medicare program on Thursday proposed deep cuts to how much it reimburses hospitals to buy drugs under a policy that gives some health facilities access to cheaper medicines. Read More>
CMS Proposes Slashing 340B Rates, Paying for Joint Procedures at Outpatient Facilities – July 13, 2017 – The CMS wants to slash 340B drug payments to hospitals and allow Medicare to pay for hip and knee replacement procedures that take place in outpatient facilities, according to a proposal released Thursday. Read More>
Trump May Be Backing Off from Plan to Scale Down 340B – July 12, 2017 – Hospital lobbying groups say they’re hearing President Donald Trump may be backing off plans to scale back a federal program that requires drugmakers to give discounted products to hospitals that treat a high number of poor patients. Read More>
HEARING: #SubOversight to Examine Growth, Oversight of 340B Drug Discount Program – July 11, 2017 – The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), announced a hearing for Tuesday, July 18, 2017, at 10:15 a.m. in room 2322 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “Examining HRSA’s Oversight of the 340B Drug Pricing Program.” RxS Insight: This Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing can be viewed live here: hearing. Read More>