Gene therapies in the pipeline to treat hemophilia will be very expensive, but they also seem to be very efficacious, and multiple could hit the market between now and 2024, said Ray Tancredi, RPh, MBA, CSP, divisional vice president, specialty pharmacy development and brand Rx/vaccine purchasing, Walgreens.
Gene therapies in the pipeline to treat hemophilia will be very expensive, but they also seem to be very efficacious, and multiple could hit the market between now and 2024, said Ray Tancredi, RPh, MBA, CSP, divisional vice president, specialty pharmacy development and brand Rx/vaccine purchasing, Walgreens.
Transcript
There are a few gene therapies for hemophilia in the pipeline. What will it mean for the health care system if more than one of these expensive therapies is approved in the next 1 to 2 years?
Yeah, that's an interesting thought. When you think of the cell and gene products, you know, I saw 4 therapies for hemophilia A in the pipeline and 2 therapies for hemophilia B. They all have the potential to come to market between now and 2024. All of these products have similar labels upon approval—use limited to moderate to severe disease—and they're really comparable in safety and efficacy. And not only that, these products will really compete with drugs that are already entrenched in the marketplace, like Hemlibra, which is a long-acting factor replacement product.
So, this may create a market where the payers have to create formularies, maybe even have different patient evaluations for prior authorization. And the primary drivers will be: How do the manufacturer and the payers work together to use these products and ensure that that they're effective? I saw some stats in the New England Journal of Medicine; there was an 84% decrease in bleeds and a 99% decrease in factor use for BioMarin's hemophilia product.
So, I think they're efficacious. I don't know exactly what the costs will be, but you know they will be very expensive, and pharma and the payers and plan sponsors are all going to have to look at these therapies, evaluate their efficacy and the costs, and determine the best patients for these products to be used in.
But very exciting. When you think about hemophilia as a disease state, these products could change patients’ lives. So, it's very, very exciting, disruptive to the market, and it'll be great for patients to maybe reduce their use of factor products.
The Pivotal Role of Payers in Improving Health Equity, Maternal Health Care in the US
March 26th 2024A presentation at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health's 2024 Women’s Health Summit discussed how payers, including employers and public entities, can strategically influence health care purchasing to prioritize maternal health and equity.
Read More
Exploring Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Variations
March 26th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the March 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on variations in prior authorization use across Medicare Advantage plans.
Listen
Increasing Lp(a) Awareness for Better Cardiovascular Health: Dr Mary McGowan
March 24th 2024For Lp(a) Awareness Day, Mary McGowan, MD, FNLA, chief medical officer of the Family Heart Foundation, highlights how most people with elevated Lp(a) are completely unaware that they have this increased risk and calls for increased testing.
Read More
Mirvetuximab Soravtansine-gynx Granted Full FDA Approval for FRα+ Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
March 22nd 2024Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (Elahere) received full FDA approval for the treatment of folate receptor alpha–positive (FRα+), platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC) based on findings from the confirmatory phase 3 MIRASOL trial.
Read More
Dr Al Benson on Reimbursement for Supportive Care When Treating Patients With Cancer
March 22nd 2024Al Benson, MD, FACP, FACCC, FASCO, medical oncologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and associate director of the Robert E. Tillery Comprehensive Cancer Center, discussed findings from a national survey assessing barriers to comprehensive cancer care delivery.
Read More