From Promise to Practice: Overcoming Access and Administration Challenges for Bispecifics in RRFL

In 'From Promise to Practice: Overcoming Access and Administration Challenges for Bispecifics in RRFL,' Ryan Haumschild, PharmD, MS, MBA, CPEL delves into the following critical question:

1. Bispecific antibodies and CAR-T represent an exciting therapeutic advance in follicular lymphoma, but their operationalization presents significant challenges. From your experience, what are the most significant barriers to bispecific antibody access and administration in community practice?

Ryan Haumschild examined the most significant barriers to bispecific antibody and CAR-T implementation in community oncology practice, identifying provider familiarity as a foundational challenge. He also emphasized that successful bispecific implementation requires a fully prepared multidisciplinary team, including pharmacy staff with established protocols and rescue medications, and nursing teams trained to monitor patients for CRS during infusion, as well as clear guidance on patient proximity to the treatment center during the period of highest risk following initial dosing. Ryan Haumschild further highlighted the even greater infrastructure demands of CAR-T therapy, including the need for upfront patient fitness evaluation, hospital collaboration for inpatient administration, and case rate arrangements, while making the case that the field must move beyond defaulting to comfort zone therapies and instead invest in modernizing care delivery through intermediate care centers, 24-hour provider access, and the operational frameworks needed to make bispecifics and cellular therapies sustainable and accessible across a broader range of practice settings.

Throughout the conversation, the experts provide a comprehensive reflection on the field and the factors that may shape how clinicians approach care moving forward.

The next episode in this series, 'NCCN Guidelines in Focus: Key Updates for Follicular Lymphoma and Their Impact on Formulary Decisions,' features Ryan Haumschild advancing his conversation on follicular lymphoma and focusing on the most significant recent updates to the NCCN guidelines for FL and how guideline category designations inform the institutional formulary review and pathway development process.