Peter Wehrwein

A poster presented at AMCP Nexus 2023 outlined how a Pharmacy Therapeutics program yielded $7,500 in savings per patient and $3.5 million in savings overall by reducing patients' incretin therapy prescriptions from two to one.

Matthew Lee, vice president of sales and marketing at MedOne, led a discussion about trends in care management from a PBM and health perspective.

Sampson Davis, MD, the keynote speaker for the 2023 PBMI Annual National Conference, discussed how the health care system needs to build trust and tailor approaches that meet community needs.

The Vice President of Industry Relations at IQVIA gave a presentation at the 2023 PBMI Annual National Conference in Orlando, where he discussed everything from healthcare utilization during COVID-19 to spending on specialty drugs.

Adam Fein, Ph.D., talked about some surprising trends in specialty pharmacy and healthcare at the 2023 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit. The number of specialty pharmacy locations may be peaking. And that "gross-to-net bubble" in drug prices that Fein has written about so much — well, it may be shrinking.

The Inflation Reduction Act boosted the Medicare payment for biosimilars from the standard average sales price plus 6% to 8%.

The Senate Finance Committee recently released a framework for legislation, and the leaders of the “big three” PBMs are scheduled to be witnesses at another committee's hearing regarding insulin prices on May 10.

The DEA is hoping to expand health care accessibility while also safeguarding from incorrectly prescribing medication.

Senators lobbed harsh criticisms at pharmacy benefit managers during a legislative hearing.

The founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company called drug pricing "insane" during a fireside chat at the Association of Accessible Medicines annual meeting.

Sixteen states have banned a pharmacy benefit management practice that involves not counting the value of drug copay assistance from manufacturers toward patient deductibles.

Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. have indicated that they are going to price their shots at between $110 and $130. The shots should still be free to individuals because of rules barring out-of-pocket costs for such vaccinations.

Spending on specialty drugs fueled a 11% increase in Medicaid drug spending from 2020 to 2021, says Magellan's seventh annual Medicaid Pharmacy Trend Report.

Biosimilars will have limited effect on the oncology drug expenditures, according to IQVIA. Spending on obesity drugs may increase tenfold, depending on guidelines and payer coverage.

Earlier results suggesting that fluvoxamine might be an effective treatment were from trials conducted earlier in the pandemic when vaccines weren’t available and other variants were circulating.

Researchers speculate that the disparities among those with private insurance coverage may reflect differences in overcoming hurdles to access, such as prior authorization.

Short-term manufacturing problems are happening as the demand for Adderall and other stimulant medications for ADHD have increased. Data from Arrive Health show a marked increase in ADHD medication prescriptions for people in their 30s.

Israeli researchers find more than fivefold risk of developing systemic sclerosis among people with vitiligo.

Because it is ‘off the shelf,’ Tecvayli may have advantages over the CAR-T therapies, which are custom made for each patient and involve harvesting the patient's T cells.

Findings by researchers at Epic, the electronic health record company, show that the benefits extend to people ages 50-64.

The announcement of positive phase 3 results for the investigational Alzheimer’s disease drug comes against a backdrop of Aduhelm flaming out. Both drugs are predicated on the theory that Alzheimer’s is caused by beta-amyloid deposits.

A recent review article lists six other JAK inhibitors that might be used as treatments for vitiligo in addition to ruxolitinib, the active ingredient in recently approved Opzelura.

The harm caused by weight-loss drugs have overwhelmed any benefit they may have. The repurposed diabetes drugs like Wegovy (semaglutide) have a strong safety profile.

Findings show more than one-third of infected preschoolers are asymptomatic. The results call into question COVID-19 prevention strategies based on screening young children for symptoms.

The quest to understand what leads to long COVID continues, with a new cross-sectional study, considered one of best on long COVID so far.

A joint statement from the two Democrats senators says prescription drug reform would save the federal government $288 billion over the next 10 years.

Researchers calculated that buying 77 generic drugs at prices being charged by Mark Cuban’s online pharmacy prices would have significantly lowered Medicare spending on those drugs.

Epic research suggests that like COVID-19, flu and other viral pneumonias can result in long-term symptoms like fatigue and brain fog. Why that might be is open question.