Analysis

10th Annual “Big Four” Pharmaceutical Pricing Boot Camp
May 23-25, 2016 | The Carlton Hotel | New York, NY http://www.americanconference.com/bigfourpharma

American Conference Institute’s 10th Annual “Big Four” Pharmaceutical Pricing Boot Camp is an intensive training course designed to provide you with a complete understanding of core pricing competencies.

Call 888-224-2480, or register online at AmericanConference.com/BigFourPharma. Drug Channels readers are entitled to 10% off the standard registration rate with discount code: P10-899-DCH16.

ACI has assembled a faculty of the leading government authorities on “Big Four” pricing and pharmacy benefits programs along with expert pricing practitioners. This distinguished faculty will make sense of complicated terminology and pricing calculations while teaching you how to navigate the complexities of working with the “Big Four” agencies: VA, DoD, PHS, and Coast Guard.

By providing solutions for the calculation, contracting, and operational challenges many pharmaceutical manufacturers face as a result of federal pricing, this conference will allow you to work more effectively with the “Big Four” agencies. This unique opportunity to have your questions answered directly by the government agencies administering federal payor programs will prove invaluable when attempting to improve and streamline practices.

For those attendees seeking a primer on “Big Four” pricing, the pre-conference workshop—“Big Four” Pricing 101—is a great opportunity to learn the fundamentals of federal pricing and will prepare you for the more advanced discussions that will take place during the main conference. In addition, new this year, attend the Final AMP Rule Boot Camp on Monday, May 23, 2016 and learn about how this final rule impacts manufacturers’ drug pricing and discount strategies. For more information and to register, visit AmericanConference.com/AMPrule

Click here to download the “Big Four” conference brochure. Register now to ensure your place at what is sure to be a sold-out event.

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The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, or any of its employees.

Today’s guest post comes from Scott Pribyl, CEO, mRx Ventures. Scott provides a useful primer on how patient care can be improved using coordinated, cloud-based technology. He explains how SamplifyRx, an innovative technology solution for specialty pharmacy, can increase adherence and streamline the patient experience for all stakeholders.

Next week, Scott will be at the 2016 Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas. Email him at scott@samplifyrx.com to learn more about SamplifyRx’s technology and set up an in-person meeting.

Visit www.parxio.com for a cool demo that was created using the SamplifyRx API. (Free registration)

Spring has finally sprung here at the Drug Channels worldwide headquarters! Take your allergy meds and then enjoy this month’s selection of pollen-free news from the Drug Channels universe.

In this issue:

• Amgen releases a nifty new report on biosimilars

• My $0.02 on the outlook for chain drugstores

• The New York Times delves into the complexities of drug pricing

Plus, Saturday Night Live mocks CVS drugstore’s employees and customers.

P.S. Don’t forget to follow @DrugChannels on Twitter for daily updates on news and commentary that I pluck from the interwebs.

The Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU), a trade association that represents community pharmacies throughout the EU, recently released its 2015 Annual Report. (Free download) The report is filled with loads of interesting data about the EU pharmacy industry, which shares many issues with the U.S. market.

One significant difference, however, is the greater efficiency of the U.S. pharmacy market.

Below, I crunch the PGEU data and compare the five biggest EU countries with the United States. As you can see, the U.S. has a much more competitive marketplace.

Extensive regulatory barriers may make the EU look like a paradise for independent pharmacies. Alas, such protections inconvenience consumers and raise drug costs. C’est la vie!

CBI’s 12th Commercial Contract & Chargeback Excellence
June 16-17, 2016 | Philadelphia, PA

CBI’s annual meeting on Commercial Contract & Chargeback Excellence focuses on ways to improve the wholesaler chargeback, navigate class of trade schema complexities, streamline membership management and optimize contract administration and operations. By illustrating software solutions, case studies and perspectives from leading distribution partners, this conference is a comprehensive forum for pharmaceutical professionals to learn best practices and gain strategies to streamline communication and processes.

Benefit from robust workshops, interactive discussions and invaluable learning on generic pricing, 340B evolution, GPO consolidation, AMP Rule impacts, membership validation, class of trade designation, chargeback processes and much more.

Speakers include representatives from AmerisourceBergen, Aurobindo Pharma, Chiesi USA, Deloitte, Depomed, Dr. Reddy’s, Fresenius Kabi, H.D. Smith, Managed Health Care Associates (MHA), McKesson, Valeant, West-Ward Pharmaceuticals, Zydus Pharmaceuticals and more.

For more information, please download the complete agenda or visit www.cbinet.com/chargebacks. Drug Channels readers will save $400 off of the standard registration rate when they use discount code CES453.*

*Cannot be combined with other offers or used towards a current registration. Cannot be combined with special category rates. Other restrictions may apply.

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The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, or any of its employees.

Today’s guest post comes from Lynnae M. Mahaney, Executive Director at the Center for Pharmacy Practice Accreditation (CPPA).

Lynnae discusses the benefits and importance of a rigorous pharmacy accreditation. She also offers Drug Channels readers a glimpse into the history and practices of CPPA.

To obtain more information about the accreditation programs offered by CPPA, including standards, a self-assessment tool, and application materials, visit the CPPA website or email Lynnae at lmahaney@pharmacypracticeaccredit.org.

It’s no secret that over the next few years, the pharmacy Industry’s revenues will continue shifting from traditional brand-name drugs to specialty drugs. The next-generation pharmaceutical blockbusters will primarily be specialty products that are aimed at smaller patient populations than were the mass-market blockbusters of yesteryear.

Let’s quantify how this change will occur.

We project that the pharmacy industry’s revenues will exceed $483 billion in 2020. Almost all of the growth will come from specialty drugs. Meanwhile, pharmacy revenues from traditional drugs will be almost flat, despite higher demand.

You’ll find our forecasts for pharmacy revenues from traditional and specialty drugs below. Be sure to check back in five years and see how close we came!

Last week, IMS Health’s IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics released Medicines Use and Spending in the U.S.–A Review of 2015 and Outlook to 2020. (Free download with registration.)

For the first time, IMS has reported net spending after rebates and discounts, which totaled more than $115 billion in 2015. List prices for brand-name drugs grew by 12.4% while net prices grew by a mere 2.8%. Kudos to IMS for having published these new data, which I hope will advance our national dialogue on drug spending.

Below, I highlight the report’s two most significant charts. Both make me wonder how much longer the industry’s gross-to-net status quo will last.

In two weeks, Drug Channels Institute and Pembroke Consulting will hit Las Vegas for the 2016 Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit (now known as the Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit).

To learn how you can reach the more than 13,000 pharma professionals in the Drug Channels audience, you can speak personally with Paula Fein, MS.Ed., Drug Channels Institute’s VP of Business Development. (And, yes, also my wife.) Email her at paula@drugchannelsinstitute.com and she’ll be happy to meet with you. (Hint: In the picture, Paula is on the far left.)

Meanwhile, be sure to check out our 2016 Drug Channels Media Kit for more on what's swinging with the site.

And when you see me at the craps table, wish me luck—but perhaps reduce your bet.

P.S. To get ready for Armada, you may also want to peruse Chapter 3 (“Specialty Drugs and Specialty Pharmacies”) in The 2016 Economic Report on Retail, Mail, and Specialty Pharmacies.

Today’s guest post comes from Patrick Lindsay, President of United BioSource Corp. (UBC).

Patrick is using this guest post to inform Drug Channels readers about UBC’s Pharma Heroes℠ program. This program recognizes and honors people who go above and beyond the call of duty in whatever they do that either directly or indirectly impacts patients’ lives.

Read on for the full story—and take a moment to nominate a Pharma Hero today!