AMCP: The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy

Among the conference highlights from the annual meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) were an interview on chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies and a session on best practices for value-based contracting.

Delayed diagnosis of wild-type transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) results in inappropriate treatments prior to diagnosis and worse clinical outcomes after diagnosis.

More than a quarter of patients experience disruptions and delays in treatment for chronic heart failure (CHF) after the initial prescription for sacubitril/valsartan was abandoned/rejected.

Implementing changes in a health system to promote biosimilar adoption is not easy, but by implementing a program, there could be substantial savings.

The clinical effectiveness of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies adds a new weapon in the arsenal to treat patients with relapsed and refractory disease; however, they come with access, logistical, and reimbursement challenges that make it difficult to treat all the patients who could benefit.

Zahra Mahmoudjafari, PharmD, BCOP, clinical pharmacy manager at the University of Kansas Health System, gives her take on what payers should keep in mind when dealing with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies.

Value-based contracts are growing as drugs get more expensive and effective, but it’s still an emerging area with a lot of unknown and uncertainty.

Pipeline forecasting can provide payers better insight into which expensive specialty drugs coming down the pipeline they should be keeping their eyes on, according to Katie Lockhart, MA, manager at Magellan Health.

Chelsee Jensen, PharmD, pharmaceutical formulary manager at Mayo Clinic, explains how the process of implementing biosimilars may differ depending on practice size.

Soumya Vishwanath, PharmD, senior manager of formulary strategy at Magellan Rx Management, highlighted the therapeutic gaps that need to be addressed to ensure that patients with behavioral health disorders are well cared for.

In 2022 and 2023, there are a number of big therapies losing patent exclusivity, which opens the door to generics that could save as much as $30 billion.

While the pandemic will have lasting impacts on the US health care market, much of it has bounced back and returned to normal, said Doug Long, MBA, of IQVIA, during the Thursday keynote at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy annual meeting.

Although the medication therapy management program in Tennessee's Medicaid population did not reduce costs, some adherence to medication improved and emergency department visits improved.

Jeffrey Casberg, vice president of pharmacy at IPD Analytics, discussed some of the regulatory and legal hurdles that generic and biosimilar companies have to face on the road to market launch.

Patients with severe asthma continue to have residual disease despite initiating treatment with biologics, and severe uncontrolled asthma is associated with higher economic burden compared with controlled asthma, according to 2 posters.

Racial and ethnic health disparities are documented and substantial, but the data are out there to create programs that successfully address these disparities, said panelists.

Michael Ciarametaro, MBA, vice president of research at the National Pharmaceutical Council, discusses the balance between lowering drug prices and encouraging innovation in new drug classes for serious diseases.

Melissa Andel, principal at CommonHealth Solutions, previewed her session on policy making and pricing reform at the upcoming Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's annual meeting.

The annual spring meeting of AMCP 2022 will include keynote sessions on health care and marketplace trends and the specialty pharmaceutical pipeline, with a featured preconference session on bias in health care.

Administrative claims data in oncology often lack sufficient information to conduct postmarketing comparison studies of biosimilars with their reference product, suggesting that other sources are needed to answer critical research questions.

Three cell and gene therapies were among the drugs included in a specialty drugs pipeline forecast at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2021 meeting.

Changes to naming conventions and interchangeability labels are just some of the regulatory barriers standing in the way of biosimilar uptake, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers.

Megan Olsen, MPH, principal at Avalere, discussed how gene and cell therapies can offer new treatment options for patients with cancer.

With President Joe Biden marking his 100th day in office at the end of the month, a health policy strategist sat down for a conversation to discuss the new administration’s achievements and challenges.

Rebecca Borgert, PharmD, BCOP, and Jim Rebello, PharmD, from Magellan Rx Management, discussed what evidence they believe could persuade payers to include biosimilars as preferred formulary products.

A poster at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2021 meeting examined the impact of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) on access to health care and resource use in the United States and the interaction of race, ethnicity, and income.

Karen Coderre, PharmD, and Madhavi Manduru-Rao, PharmD, detail how CMS' increased weighting for Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems surveys impacts Star ratings.

The pandemic reduced visits to specialists last year, which in turn reduced the volume of prescriptions, according to a presentation at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2021 meeting.

Compared with when Medicare Part D launched, therapies today are more expensive. A panel at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2021 meeting discussed how the benefit needs to adapt to keep up with the future.

Brenden O’Hara, RPh, BCACP, from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, talked about the pharmacist’s role in improving outcomes in value-based contracts and why collaboration is needed.