Ryan Haumschild, PharmD, MS, MBA, CPEL

Panelists emphasize that patients with KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often face steep educational challenges at diagnosis, requiring clear communication about the subtype’s adverse-risk classification, biological complexity, and treatment implications—highlighting the need for accessible education, academic-community collaboration, and early referral to specialized care for optimal outcomes.

Panelists explain that KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive, molecularly distinct leukemia subtype marked by menin-dependent transcriptional dysregulation, poor response to standard therapy, diagnostic challenges, and high relapse risk—underscoring the urgency of RNA-based diagnostics, early transplant consideration, and emerging menin-targeted treatments to improve outcomes.

Panelists discuss how policy makers can increase biosimilar adoption through financial incentives, streamlined interchangeability rules, and addressing patent litigation delays, emphasizing that biosimilar savings will ultimately help fund the next wave of health care innovation such as cell and gene therapies.

Panelists discuss how biosimilar manufacturers can increase uptake by ensuring positive financial outcomes for all stakeholders, maintaining strong patient assistance programs, and working closely with health care providers who significantly influence biosimilar implementation.

Panelists discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) might influence health care systems’ selection and utilization of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, particularly through changes in pricing, reimbursement policies, and treatment access.

Panelists discuss how lower out-of-pocket costs resulting from ibrutinib’s inclusion in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) might improve the affordability and utilization of BTK inhibitor treatments in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), potentially expanding access for patients.

Panelists discuss how promising ongoing and upcoming clinical trials may reshape sequencing strategies in ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Panelists discuss how to approach patient education after progression on an ALK inhibitor, address real-world challenges during therapy transitions, and determine best options for patients progressing on lorlatinib.

Panelists discuss how health systems can learn from published case examples when implementing biosimilars, noting that biosimilars can create a “win-win” situation where patients see lower costs, payers see lower charges, and providers may experience better margins.

Panelists discuss how implementing interchangeable biosimilars requires effective communication with providers and patients, emphasizing that educating stakeholders before making changes is essential for successful adoption despite the legal permissions afforded by interchangeability designation.

Panelists discuss how to balance the clinical benefits of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor therapies with their associated costs when making treatment decisions for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), considering both patient outcomes and financial constraints.

Panelists discuss the primary access challenges in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) treatment, including financial barriers and health care system limitations, and how these obstacles impact patient outcomes and treatment efficacy.

Panelists discuss how alectinib use in the adjuvant setting might shift sequencing strategies in metastatic ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and how resistance mutations influence post-frontline therapy selection.

Panelists discuss how to overcome barriers to comprehensive molecular testing and how to prioritize treatment when ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) coexists with other actionable biomarkers.

Panelists discuss how biosimilars for adalimumab have faced unique challenges in the prescription benefit space compared with earlier oncology biosimilars, highlighting the importance of interchangeability designation, advance planning, and stakeholder education when implementing biosimilar adoption strategies.

Panelists discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 has influenced biosimilar utilization in the US health care system through its pharmacy provisions targeting Medicare patients, examining institutional impacts on adoption patterns, exploring payer preferences between high- and low-wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) therapies under the new regulatory framework, forecasting the evolving role of biosimilars at health care institutions, and identifying persistent barriers to uptake alongside potential strategies to overcome these challenges.

Panelists discuss how proactive patient education, lipid-lowering interventions, and monitoring tools can help patients stay on ALK inhibitor therapy to realize long-term benefits.

Panelists discuss how lorlatinib’s unique adverse event (AE) profile, including cognitive effects, hypercholesterolemia, and peripheral neuropathy, impacts treatment selection and patient management.

Panelists discuss how stakeholders can prepare for the upcoming interchangeability designation of more biosimilars later this year, debating whether interchangeability status or formulary-level changes are more impactful and identifying necessary systemic shifts required to ensure both patients and health systems realize meaningful cost savings when transitioning from reference products to biosimilars.

Panelists discuss how major PBMs' (pharmacy benefit managers) decisions to prefer biosimilars over reference biologics provide valuable insights into successful adoption strategies, specifically examining CVS Caremark's removal of reference biologic adalimumab from national commercial template formularies, which resulted in 97% of prescriptions being filled with preferred biosimilars, and analyzing the key implementation factors driving this remarkable conversion rate.

Panelists discuss how ALK inhibitors compare in terms of tolerability and best practices for managing associated toxicities.

Panelists discuss how currently available ALK inhibitors compare in terms of efficacy, durability of response, and central nervous system (CNS) penetration for metastatic non–small cell lung cancer treatment.

Panelists discuss how biosimilar manufacturers offer both high-wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) and low-WAC product versions to navigate complex reimbursement landscapes, sharing their experiences with low-WAC options on formularies, defining private label agreements as strategies to improve biosimilar access across different patient populations, and examining the rationale behind PBMs' (pharmacy benefit managers) implementation of these agreements, including their specific components and benefits.

Panelists discuss how the significant price increases in reference biologics over the past decade have created market opportunities for biosimilars while exploring barriers to their adoption, potential solutions for enhancing uptake, and successful institutional strategies for increasing biosimilar utilization.

Panelists discuss how clinical trial outcomes like CROWN and eXalt3 reflect real-world patient experiences and how these collective data have changed perspectives on frontline therapies for ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Panelists discuss how matching-adjusted indirect comparisons (MAIC) of ALK inhibitors and the FDA approval of ensartinib in December 2024 influence frontline treatment selection for ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Panelists discuss how the 5-year CROWN trial data for lorlatinib have shaped the treatment paradigm for ALK+ metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), particularly regarding long-term survival, durability of response, and management of brain metastases.

Panelists discuss how they will explore optimizing care for patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (ALK+ NSCLC) through treatment selection, sequencing strategies, and interpretation of emerging clinical data.

Panelists discuss challenges oncologists face in managing treatment-naive patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), including balancing efficacy with adverse effect profiles, and highlight strategies such as multidisciplinary collaboration and access to updated treatment guidelines to address these issues while also expressing eagerness for future advancements in Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors and the need for further research to refine treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes.

Panelists discuss proactive measures that health care teams can implement to manage adverse events associated with Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, such as early monitoring, dose adjustments, and supportive care, while emphasizing the importance of patient education to improve adherence and ensure positive treatment outcomes.