Asembia

In 2 sessions at the Asembia 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit, George Van Antwerp, MBA, managing director, Deloitte Consulting, will provide a look at the future of specialty pharmacy and health equity in pharmacy.

Healthcare is very comfortable with treating a disease, but it’s not as good with handling cures. However, the advent of gene therapy and precision medicine means more and more expensive cures are coming down the pipeline, said panelists on the last day of Asembia’s 15th annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit, held April 29 to May 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Out-of-pocket (OOP) costs remain a problem, and even patients who are receiving co-pay assistance worry about these expenses. Unfortunately, charitable foundations that provide financial assistance are under increasing strain as demand rises, with funds running out of money quickly, explained Ayesha Azam, senior director of medical affairs, Patient Access Network Foundation.

Analyses of real-world data have broadened the understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) and provided a snapshot into patient conditions and healthcare costs in the years leading up to and the years after an MS diagnosis, explained Bruce Pyenson, FSA, MAAA, Principal, Consulting Actuary, Milliman, Inc, during a session highlighting findings of a recent Milliman white paper at Asembia’s 15th annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit, held April 29 to May 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During a session at Asembia’s 15th annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit, Greg Simon, president, Biden Cancer Initiative, outlined commitments that came out of the Cancer Moonshot, the work of the Biden Cancer Initiative, and ongoing challenges that patients with cancer face.

New technologies are enabling pharmacists to play a bigger role in managing overall care delivery and the cost of care for patients with cancer, explained Matt Farber, MA, senior director of Patient Care and Advocacy for Walgreens.

During his keynote speech at Asembia’s 15th annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit, Scott Gottlieb, MD, reflected on governing principles he learned during his time as FDA commissioner, highlighted secular trends for which FDA wrote modern rules, and outlined ongoing reimbursement challenges. He even discussed the likelihood of some form of Medicare for All passing.

A policy from the Trump administration to benefit patients and alleviate the high cost of prescription drugs would eliminate rebates from pharmaceutical companies to pharmacy benefit managers. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty around the rule. Two speakers from Deloitte Consulting LLP outlined what models are expected to result from the changes to rebates and how they will affect various stakeholders in healthcare.

The oncology drug pipeline has experienced rapid growth over the past decade, driven by innovation in cell therapies, immunotherapy, and precision medicine, according to a specialty pipeline update presentation at Asembia's 15th annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit, held April 29 to May 2 in Las Vegas.

In a session at Asembia's 15th annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit, held April 29 to May 2 in Las Vegas, speakers highlighted a pilot program to gather and use real-world evidence to compare outcomes at 7 large academic medical centers for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and malignant melanoma.

As the number of health system specialty pharmacies grows, and they become more complex, they have a role to play in integrating at the point of care to collect data and drive value-based care, said panelists at Asembia's 15th annual Specialty Pharmacy Summit.