2019 Specialty Rx Forum Meeting Summary

The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute hosted its 3rd Regional Specialty Rx Forum in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 10. The meeting brought together more than 100 healthcare stakeholders to join in a dynamic discussion of specialty pharmacy.

Susan Trieu, PharmD, from MedImpact opened the event with a thought-provoking presentation on next generation therapy. There are more than 7000 specialty drugs in the development pipeline. When considering the pipeline, we must look at 3 components: population, market share, and cost. We must also look to the future — for example could CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapies be managed under the pharmacy benefit 20 years from now? Below is an outlook of the future of gene therapies:

• Research investment will continue but the ability to produce a marketed gene therapy product may limit this investment in the future. If gene therapy does not make it in the United States, there is fear that there will be a decrease in development.
• Competition for small patient population
• CAR T-cell therapies potential in the solid tumor market
• Other therapies that may be significant are gene-editing therapies: CRISPR, Zinc Finger Nucleases, TALENs

Read more about the meeting.