The specialty market has experienced a significant rate of growth as well as increased costs over the past few years thanks to a broader use of specialty medications to treat common and rare diseases.
The specialty market has experienced a significant rate of growth as well as increased costs over the past few years thanks to a broader use of specialty medications to treat common and rare diseases. Some medications will drastically improve health outcomes while others may provide a smaller benefit with the potential for adverse effects and financial burden. It is important for managed care pharmacists to understand how new specialty medications will continue to expand the specialty market.
At this year’s Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 24th Annual Meeting, Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, Senior Clinical Consultant, Emerging Therapeutics, Express Scripts, Inc, gave an overview of the specialty market trends and top drugs in the pipeline in her presentation “Specialty Pharmaceuticals Pipeline Update.”
The US Food and Drug Administration’s new drug approval rates from 2008 to 2011 and the rate of increase from traditional to specialty drugs were compared. Multiple sclerosis (MS), gout, inflammatory conditions, cancer, HIV, hepatitis C, cystic fibrosis, and others were highlighted. Dr Tharaldson indicated that the MS pipeline trend will include more oral disease-modifying drugs, an expanded MS use for currently marketed drugs, as well as new therapies for secondary progressive MS. Sanofi, Biogen Idec, Active Biotech/Teva, Genzyme, Sandoz/Momenta, AB Science, and Opexa are among those pharmaceutical companies expected to launch MS drugs in 2012 through 2015.
Currently marketed drugs Lemtrada (Genzyme) and Zenapax (Blogen Idec/Abbott) will both expand into MS with a focus on relapsing-remitting MS. The significant development in the oral cancer drug pipeline has led to more targeted therapies and vaccines, as well as a focus on niche or orphan cancer types.
For more information on this and other sessions, please visit www.amcp.org.
Patient-Reported Outcomes Reinforce Efficacy of Natalizumab for MS
November 21st 2023Researchers gathered data on patient-reported outcomes to support evidence for the continuation of natalizumab, a disease-modifying treatment, in the management of multiple sclerosis (MS) progression.
Read More
The Importance of Examining and Preventing Atrial Fibrillation
August 29th 2023At this year’s American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress on CVD Prevention, Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, delivered the Honorary Fellow Award Lecture, “The Imperative to Focus on the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation,” as the recipient of this year’s Honorary Fellow of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology award.
Listen
Timing of Neurofilament Light Changes May Predict Multiple Sclerosis Worsening
November 16th 2023The reported neurofilament light elevation preceding confirmed disability worsening events highlighted the value of NfL as an early biomarker of disability worsening and points to the existence of different windows of dynamic central nervous system pathology.
Read More
Promoting Equity in Public Health: Policy, Investment, and Community Engagement Solutions
June 28th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, on the core takeaways of his keynote session at AHIP 2022 on public health policy and other solutions to promote equitable health and well-being.
Listen
Evaluating Label Warnings, Switching Rates in Patients With Psoriasis Initiating New Treatment
November 9th 2023Posters presented at the 2023 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference evaluated how label warnings may affect new treatment initiation and real-word switching patterns for patients starting risankizumab.
Read More
Innovation in Value-Based Care Requires More Data, Patient-Centered Thinking
November 9th 2023In a panel discussion at the 2023 Patient-Centered Oncology Care® meeting held in Nashville, Tennessee, experts discussed the Enhancing Oncology Model and themes in the movement toward value-based care in oncology.
Read More