ICYMI: Highlights From AMCP Nexus 2024

Our top-5 most-viewed pieces of coverage from The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus 2024 meeting surveyed the special obstacles affiliated with sickle cell disease (SCD) gene therapy, the specialty pharmacy pipeline, policy reform, the consequences of misdiagnoses, the health care implications of the 2024 election, and more.

Below are our top-5 most-viewed content pieces from AMCP Nexux 2024. To view our AMCP Nexus coverage in its entirety, and catch up on insights from prior meetings, please see our dedicated AMCP Nexus page.

5. Sickle Cell Gene Therapies Face Unique Uptake Challenges

Uptake and rollout for the first available gene therapies for SCD, which could be due to multiple factors, theorized Kevin Niehoff, PharmD, BCMAS, associate director, Market and Financial Insights, IPD Analytics. There are unconsidered challenges in this area, such as differentiating appropriate treatments for varying degrees of SCD, overestimations about the target market, and the fact that SCD isn’t a progressive disease. He explained how the urgency associated with progressive diseases can drive gene therapy uptake, which is lacking in SCD, among other important factors that could explain the current market for these therapeutics.

Watch the interview here.

4. Navigating the “Really Exciting” Specialty Pharmaceutical Pipeline

The advent of biosimilars, gene and cell therapies, and novel treatments for otherwise complex or rare conditions have expanded the specialty pharmaceutical pipeline. The market and need for biosimilars is growing, as evidenced by their capacity to lower drug costs and broaden patients’ treatment options. At ACMP Nexus 2024, new trends and exciting developments across endocrinology, gastroenterology, immunology, pulmonology, cardiology, and more were explored, allowing clinicians and patients alike to optimistically anticipate innovations are to come in these fields.

Read the full article here.

3. Financial Considerations, Policies for Antiobesity Medication Coverage

The obesity epidemic in the US has been on the rise in years past, coinciding with an upward trend of anti-obesity prescriptions and medications. In this realm, policies that dictate patients’ coverage and other financial components were a key topic of concern at AMCP Nexus 2024. While these medications often come at a hefty price, experts continually honed on the importance of identifying patients who could benefit from lower-cost lifestyle modifications while implementing financial strategies to keep pharmacotherapies available for those in need as drug shortages for novel glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs have endured their own struggles.

Read the full article here.

2. Misdiagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and the Impact on Patient Treatment

The misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder is unfortunately a frequent occurrence that not only delays appropriate treatment but also influences a great financial burden as patients seek out therapeutics that cannot address their condition, explained Stephanie Hsia, PharmD, MAEd, BCPP, associate professor of clinical pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy. One of the primary mistakes clinicians make is diagnosing patients with unipolar depression, as those affected by bipolar disorder can experience long bouts of a depressive episode. In this interview, Hsia explored this misinterpretation further, as well as important financial implications and the impact stigma has on this patient population.

Watch the full interview here.

1. The 2024 Presidential Election: Implications for Health Care Policy

The prospect of a Harris or Trump presidency carried 2 different implications for US health care. Prior to the election, experts at AMCP Nexus 2024 explored the prospective futures of reproductive rights, the cost of prescription drugs, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare benefits, and more. With election results at the time being uncertain, they further outlined the consequences that follow either Democratic or Republican control of Congress and the potential policy changes that could follow. Their discussion concluded by highlighting the influence that executive action could have on various policies for the benefit or detriment of American health care.

Read the full article here.