Skylar is an associate editor for The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) and The Center for Biosimilars®, and joined AJMC® in 2020. She is responsible for covering all aspects of the ever-changing global biosimilar industry and produces content that is accessible and informative for all health care stakeholders.
She has a BA in journalism and media studies from Rutgers University. You can connect with Skylar on LinkedIn.
Pegfilgrastim Biosimilar Fylnetra Launches in the United States
May 19th 2023Amneal Pharmaceuticals this week launched its pegfilgrastim biosimilar, Fylnetra (pegfilgrastim-pbbk), for the treatment and prevention of febrile neutropenia, making it the sixth biosimilar referencing Neulasta to enter the US market.
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Q&A: Elizabeth Johnson Shares Why Empathy Is Missing From Patient-Centered Care
May 12th 2023Elizabeth Johnson, LPN, PACS, BPCA, CEO of MedicoCX, co-CEO of Healthcare Advocate Summit, and an Asembia 2023 presenter, discusses why more empathetic approaches that take into account the full range of the patient experience are needed to improve patient-focused health care.
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Specialty Pharmacies Should Leverage AI Tracking to Increase Drug Delivery Efficiency
May 10th 2023Speakers at the 2023 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit outlined how artificial intelligence (AI) tools for pharmaceuticals, such as parcel tracking, could reduce operational costs for specialty pharmacies and mitigate drug delivery issues for patients.
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Removing the Taboo: Talking About Women’s Health Is the First Step to Improving Health Equity
May 9th 2023A panel on women’s health disparities at the 2023 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit addressed the current challenges women face regarding health care as well as how digital tools, collaboration between clinics and governments, and more detailed and inclusive research can help improve health equity for all women.
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Julie Reed: The Status Quo for Biosimilars Needs to Change to Maintain the Industry
May 4th 2023The 2023 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit featured Juliana (Julie) Reed, executive director of the Biosimilars Forum, who spoke on the challenges still facing the biosimilars industry and how they may impact the success of adalimumab biosimilars in the United States.
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Digital Tools May Help Improve Patient Experience, but Human Connection Is Still Needed
May 3rd 2023Although digital tools can be immensely helpful for creating a personalized, convenient interaction between patients and the health care system, they should not be the end-all be-all method to improve the patient experience, according to a panel discussion at the 2023 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit.
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Survey Shows Payers More Likely to Prefer Multiple Biosimilars for the Same Reference Product
May 2nd 2023In a panel at the 2023 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit, speakers presented on the payer perspective regarding biosimilars, including that they feel comfortable preferring multiple biosimilars for the same reference product and are looking for interchangeability designations.
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Payers, Drug Manufacturers Can Expect More Liability Under New IRA Drug Pricing Policies
May 2nd 2023Panelists at the 2023 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit discussed the myriad of ways that the drug pricing policies of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), such as inflation rebates and a redesign of Medicare Part D plans, will affect payers and manufacturers.
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Asembia 2023 Summit to Provide Insight Into Health Equity, IRA, and More
April 25th 2023Several presentations at the 2023 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit, held in Las Vegas, Nevada, from April 30 through May 4, will cover how to address health equity concerns in specialty pharmacy care, the expansion of the biosimilars market, and the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on the US health care system.
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Study Reveals Factors That Dissuade Commercial Plans From Covering Biosimilars
April 22nd 2023A study assessing factors that may determine a commercial health plan’s likelihood of covering a biosimilar found that biosimilars that are cancer therapies, used to treat children, indicated for highly prevalent conditions, or only competing against the originator were more likely to have coverage restrictions.
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Dr Michael Cohen Discusses Accessibility of Future Gene Therapies
February 9th 2023Michael N. Cohen, MD, FAAO, retinal surgeon at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadephia and Mid Atlantic Retina, speaks about the future of gene therapy and the accessibility and availability of these therapies moving forward.
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IRA Insulin Cap Could Have Saved Medicare Beneficiaries Millions in 2020
January 30th 2023An HHS report said that if the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) had been implemented in 2020, Medicare Part D beneficiaries could have saved a total of $734 million, averaging out to about $500 per member.
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Female Adolescents With T1D Have Lower Quality of Life Than Male Children
January 27th 2023A systematic review evaluating sex differences in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) found that female children had higher rates of comorbidities, higher body mass index, required higher insulin doses, and had a lower quality of life compared with male children.
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Dr Michael Chiang Speaks About the NEI's Involvement in AMD, Addressing Health Disparities
January 26th 2023Michael Chiang, MD, director of the National Eye Institute, spoke about efforts to address age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as well as health disparities in clinical trials and access to treatment.
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Valproate Exhibits Both Hypnotic, Antiepileptic Properties During Sleep
January 21st 2023In an animal study, researchers found that valproate, a common epilepsy drug, possessed hypnotic and antiepileptic properties during sleep, suggesting that the drug could help improve sleep quality for patients with nocturnal epilepsy.
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Dr Adetunji Toriola Shares Breast Cancer Prevention Tactics for Premenopausal Women
January 10th 2023Adetunji T. Toriola, MD, PhD, professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, explains how breast cancer prevention campaigns for premenopausal women have changed and how RANK ligand inhibition could influence screening accuracy.
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Dr Michael Paull Highlights the Vancouver Clinic's Progress With Hypertension Metrics
January 10th 2023Michael Paull, MD, medical director of primary/urgent care and continuous improvement at the Vancouver Clinic (TVC), explained how TVC was able to improve its hypertension metrics to align with CMS' targets.
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Dr Kyle Lamb Discusses Transitional Care, Super-Utilization in Value-Based Medicine
December 19th 2022Kyle Lamb, MD, associate medical director of population health at Vancouver Clinic, discusses how super-utilization trends have changed since the start of COVID-19, the necessity of transitional care in implementing value-based medicine, and how technology can decrease super-utilization.
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Dr Martin Levine Explains the Growing Need for Caregiver Support in Alzheimer Disease
December 19th 2022Martin Levine, MD, MBA, chief medical officer at the PolyClinic at Optum Washington, describes why caregivers need more resources to adequately manage patients with Alzheimer disease and what clinics can do to ensure access to those resources.
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Dr Lola Fayanju Shares How Providers Can Leverage PROs to Improve Breast Cancer Care
December 9th 2022Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) within breast cancer settings can be instrumental in helping patients feel heard and improving their overall quality of care, said Oluwadamilola "Lola" Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS, chief of breast surgery at Penn Medicine.
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Dr William Jacout Offers Advice for Providers Using Genomics to Inform Breast Cancer Treatment
December 9th 2022William Jacout, MD, a medical oncologist and researcher at the Institut du Cancer de Montpellier Val d'Aurelle in France, shares what providers should keep in mind when using genomics as a diagnostic and treatment decision-making tool for patients with breast cancer.
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Dr Adam Brufsky Describes the Evolution of Treatment Options for HER2-Low Breast Cancer
December 8th 2022Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low breast disease has a number of new treatments available, and more providers need to be aware of how it differs from other forms of breast cancer, according to Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
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Dr Jose P. Leone Highlights the Importance of Breast Cancer Awareness for Male Patients
December 8th 2022Jose P. Leone, MD, director of the program for breast cancer in men at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, shares why patients and providers need to pay more attention to how breast cancer impacts male patients.
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Dr Dawn Hershman Discusses Tactics to Increase Drug Adherence in Clinical Trials
December 7th 2022Dawn L. Hershman, MD, an oncologist from Columbia University, shared insight into the current challenge of ensuring drug adherence within clinical trials and how this adherence can impact the quality of care for patients in real-world settings.
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Dr Irene Kang Shares Cognitive Impairment Results From the RxPonder Breast Cancer Study
December 7th 2022Irene M. Kang, MD, from City of Hope, shared some of the results from her analysis of cognitive impairment in women with breast cancer who participated in the RxPonder study, which assessed which patients would benefit most from chemotherapy.
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Dr Neil Iyengar Previews SABCS Presentation on Metabolic Dysregulation in Breast Cancer
December 5th 2022Neil Iyengar, MD, from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, is expecting updates on therapies to fight human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)–positive breast cancer and novel antibody drug conjugates at the upcoming San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).
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Stem Cell Transplant May Be Viable Treatment for Patients With HIV, Leukemia, Says Dr Jana Dickter
November 16th 2022Jana K. Dickter, MD, associate clinical professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, City of Hope, discusses a patient's experience being the oldest person to successfully undergo a stem cell transplant while living with HIV and leukemia.
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