Cost will be one of the most important factors to determine whether or not a biosimilar pegfilgrastim improves patient access to the treatment, said Leora Horn, MD, clinical director of thoracic oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingraham Cancer Center, assistant vice chancellor for faculty development at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Cost will be one of the most important factors to determine whether or not a biosimilar pegfilgrastim improves patient access to the treatment, said Leora Horn, MD, clinical director of thoracic oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingraham Cancer Center, assistant vice chancellor for faculty development at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Transcript (slightly modified)
How might a biosimilar pegfilgrastim improve patient access?
So, that’s a good question. I think a lot of that will depend on cost. We can access the drug for patients and with the recent OBI [On-Body Injector] formulation, where patients can get their injection in clinic, on the day of chemo, but it releases 24 hours later when they’re at home; that’s made access a little bit easier that patients don’t have to drive back and forth to the cancer clinic especially when insurance won’t cover the drug.
I think the biggest issue is going to be: is the cost going to be lower? Because as we know for a lot of drugs, you can sort of think of a biosimilar as a generic version of a chemo agent and if the cost of the drug is as high as some of the generic agents we have in the United States, it’s not going to make it any more affordable for our cancer patients.
In this interview with The American Journal of Managed Care®, Katie Queen, MD, addresses the complexity of obesity as a medical condition, pivoting to virtual care while ensuring that patients who lived in a rural location continued to receive adequate care, and the importance of integrating awareness of obesity and chronic disease prevention into local food culture.
Read More
Recent T1D Research Contradicts Common Assumptions About Patients
November 15th 2023Michael Fang, PhD, researcher and assistant professor in the division of Cardiovascular and Clinical Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, discussed recent findings in the type 1 diabetes (T1D) space that may alter the way providers address diabetes diagnoses.
Read More
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Thyme Care CEO and Cofounder Robin Shah
October 2nd 2023Robin Shah, CEO of Thyme Care, which he founded in 2020 with Bobby Green, MD, president and chief medical officer, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, to discuss his evolution as an entrepreneur in oncology care innovation and his goal of positively changing how patients experience the cancer system.
Listen