April 23rd 2021
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to uphold the original language of the emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccination, and is possible the 1-dose vaccine could resume Saturday.
This Week in Managed Care: May 4, 2018
May 4th 2018This week, the top managed care stories included a report that insurance coverage gains are reversing; a deal to lower the cost of Praluent for Express Scripts members; findings that synthetic opioids are playing a bigger role in overdose deaths.
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FDA Approves CAR T-Cell Treatment Kymriah for Adult B-Cell Lymphoma
May 2nd 2018Tisagenlecleucel, sold as Kymriah, has gained its second indication following the FDA's approval of the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma, the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
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The chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel has been approved for a second type of blood cancer; the National Institutes of Health has started recruiting individuals for a database that will include data on more than 1 million people; Kansas’ request to impose a 3-year lifetime limit on Medicaid benefits is testing just how open the Trump administration is to allowing states flexibility.
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Dr Shannon Maude: The Novelty of CAR T Treatments Requires Patient Education
May 1st 2018Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatments are still new enough that there are still unknown regarding long-term side effects, which is something patients need to understand before they undergo treatment, said Shannon L. Maude, MD, PhD, of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
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Hemophilia: Treatment Landscape, Costs, and Disease Management
April 26th 2018At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting, experts addressed the cost of treating patients with hemophilia and the importance of care coordination to ensure a more holistic approach toward caring for these patients.
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New Test Could Make Multiple Myeloma Diagnosis as Easy as Drawing a Blood Sample
April 23rd 2018A new blood test could negate the need for bone biopsies to diagnose a variety of cancers, including multiple myeloma. The test uses a small, low-cost plastic chip that delivers the same diagnostic information of a biopsy through a simple blood draw.
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Novel Drug Shows Promise in Acute Myeloid Leukemia by Suppressing Two Proteins
April 19th 2018A novel drug that targets MDMX and MDM2, which inhibit a protein that suppresses tumors when they are overexpressed, has tripled the median survival rate in an animal model of human acute myeloid leukemia, according to new research.
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Dr Stephen Schuster: Unique CAR T Toxicities Require Provider Education
April 17th 2018Since patients who receive CAR T-cell therapy experience unique adverse events, there will need to be education for providers who care for these patients, explained Stephen Schuster, MD, of the Perelman School of Medicine.
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Survivors of Childhood ALL Have Risk of Neurocognitive Issues Even Before Treatment
April 14th 2018While increased risk of neurocognitive issues, such as long-term problems with attention, is common in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the risk may actually begin before treatment, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology.
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Study Revises Molecular Classification of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
April 14th 2018Researchers have identified genetic subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that revise the molecular classification of the disease and could provide insight into why some patients respond to treatment and others don’t.
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Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease Drug Gains European Orphan Designation
April 8th 2018Sancilio Pharmaceuticals announced that it has received the European Medicines Agency’s Orphan Designation for its SC411 (which it plans to market as Altemia), a proposed treatment for sickle cell disease in pediatric patients, in the European Union. The FDA granted the proposed drug a similar designation—the Rare Pediatric Disease designation—in 2017.
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Dr Nina Shah Outlines New Treatments Being Studied for Multiple Myeloma
April 7th 2018While there has been progress with using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to treat multiple myeloma, these treatments aren’t ready for prime time, said Nina Shah, MD, associate professor, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.
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Screening for Multiple Myeloma Precursor Can Reduce Mortality and Slow Progression
April 5th 2018Researchers have been trying to find a way to screen populations at high risk of developing a precursor condition to multiple myeloma in order to intervene early and reduce disease prevalence and mortality.
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Pricing of CAR T Therapies Currently Aligns With Benefit, but Future Changes May Be Needed
March 27th 2018Despite price tags well over $350,000 for treatment, tisagenlecleucel, approved for children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and axicabtagene ciloleucel, approved for adults with certain B-cell subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, are considered cost effective, according to a report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review.
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FDA Approves Brentuximab Vedotin for Frontline Treatment of Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
March 21st 2018The FDA has approved brentuximab vedotin (Adcentris) in combination with chemotherapy for adults with previously untreated state 3 or 4 classical Hodgkin lymphoma based on results of the ECHELON-1 study.
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Patients With AML Have Significantly Lower Early Mortality at NCI-Designated Cancer Centers
March 17th 2018Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who were treated at a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center had a 53% lower risk of early mortality, according to a study published in Cancer.
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NCI Researchers Find Drug May Prevent Resistance in Toxin-Based Leukemia Treatment
March 15th 2018A new study recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified a possible solution for improving the efficacy of moxetumomab pasudotox, or moxe, in patients with relapsed and chemotherapy-resistant acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
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Patients With Breast Cancer or Lymphoma Have Increased Risk of Heart Failure
March 10th 2018Patients who had breast cancer or lymphoma who were treated more than 3 times are more likely to develop congestive heart failure than those who did not have cancer, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 67th Annual Scientific Session.
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This Week in Managed Care: March 9, 2018
March 9th 2018This week, the top managed care stories included Cigna's deal to buy Express Scripts; Seema Verma, Alex Azar, and Scott Gottlieb, MD, made the rounds at health conferences; an analysis finds FDA's accelerated approval pathway has been a success with hematology and oncology drugs.
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Expedited Approval Is Successful for Cancer Therapies, FDA Says
March 8th 2018Reviewing 25 years of experience with accelerated approvals (AAs) for malignant hematology and oncology drugs and biologics, FDA officials say that the AA program has demonstrated that it can be used successfully to expedite approval of safe, effective cancer therapies that balance uncertainty with the need to provide faster access to promising agents for serious and life-threatening diseases.
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HCT Effective for Patients With Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Regardless of Age
February 28th 2018New research has found that allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is just as effective in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who are age 65 and older as it is in patients between the ages of 55 and 64.
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