Analysis

6th Annual Stakeholder Conference on Oncology Market Access & Pricing 2015

June 15-16 | Boston, MA

You know it and have read it here before: Market access in oncology is no longer guaranteed. This means that innovative manufacturers need to collaborate with managed care to provide real value. There are few occasions where pharma leaders meet the key stakeholders – eyeforpharma’s 6th Annual Oncology Summit on June 15-16 is the Number One out there, and here’s why:


These are just a few program highlights to help you succeed in the shifting market:

• Peter Sandor, VP, Global Marketing, Amgen, shows how to realize the critical success factors in small patient markets and prepare for launch excellence.
• Sue Naeyaert, Head, Global Pricing and Market Access, Merck Biosimilars, guides us through recent developments in EU & US biosimilars and outlines the key drivers for market success.
• Ted Okon, Exec. Director, Community Oncology Alliance, will be joined by payors and providers to offer stakeholder reactions to the changes in the site-of-care market.
• Ana Cespedes, SVP, Global Market Access and Pricing, EMD, discusses the integration of specialty drugs in the new payment models.
• Kevin O’Leary, VP, Strategic Pricing and Reimbursement, Bayer, demonstrates Bayer's systematic use of co-pay support and assistance programs in the US.
• Edward J Benz, President and CEO, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, tells us what endpoints managed care really “cares” about.

Attendees learn as much from the world-class speaking faculty as they learn from their peers. Recent registrants include:

• Executive Chairman - Cancer Trust Centers of America
• Executive Director Oncology - Merck
• Senior Director - McKesson
• Director - Specialty Pharmacy Strategy & Innovation, Pfizer
• Director - Market Access Strategy & Pricing, Oncology, Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Chief Medical Officer – Roche Diagnostics
• Director - Global Pricing & Market Access, Gilead Sciences

We’ve already confirmed dozens senior participants from: Aetna / American Cancer Society/ Amgen / Bayer / Community Oncology Alliance / Dana Farber / Eisai / Genentech / Gilead / Health Strategies Group / Merck / Millennium / Monitor Deloitte / Novartis / Precision for Value / Premier / RAND / Roche / Takeda…

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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 Magnar Kvilhaug, RPh, MBA and Kathleen Kvilhaug RPh, of Odin Pharmacy Innovations.

They describe AppaGrapha, a new free mobile app for improving patient adherence to drug therapy. This intriguing app allows patients to monitor their own therapy, provides feedback on adherence, confidentially shares data with a healthcare provider or pharmacist, and more. Details below. Android users can download the free AppaGrapha mobile app here. The iOS version will be available soon.

For more details about AppaGrapha, email Magnar Kvilhaug or Kathleen Kvilhaug. You can also visit them in booth #326 at the upcoming 2015 Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit.

Retail generic drugs usually get cheaper over time, but my previous analyses have documented substantial generic inflation. Our latest exclusive investigation, however, finds that generic inflation may be easing.

During the first quarter of 2015, generic drug price increases were low compared with our two most recent examinations. We also found no drugs with mega-increases (exceeding 1,000%).

While inflation has slowed, generic drugs that have experienced cost increases haven’t necessarily become cheaper. As I show below, the actions of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have prevented new supply from entering the market.

But as the FDA’s backlog of 4,000 applications starts to clear, generic costs will start deflating. Until then, expect some generics to remain costly and inflation to continue.

11th Commercial Contracts & Chargeback Management

June 22-23, 2015 | Philadelphia, PA

www.cbinet.com/chargebacks

CBI’s 11th Commercial Contracts & Chargeback Management forum focuses on ways to improve the wholesaler chargeback, manufacturer profitability and GPO membership maintenance. Gain strategies and tools for streamlining these important processes and, ultimately, retaining more revenue for the organization.

Industry thought leaders from Amerinet, Inc, Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Johnson & Johnson, King & Spalding, LLP, McKesson Corporation, Novo Nordisk and more will present viewpoints on how to:

• Streamline and automate contract and chargeback administration
• Assess challenges related to receiving 340B entity reconciliation
• Validate contract price eligibility through the EDI chargeback process
• Certify membership and oversee terms of contracts
• Minimize revenue leakage or overpayment of chargebacks
• Respond to drug shortage's negative impact on pricing

Visit www.cbinet.com/chargebacks for more information. Drug Channels readers will save $400 off of the standard registration rate when they use code PYE386.*


*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 Perry Lewis, VP of Industry Relations at CoverMyMeds.

Perry discusses results from CoverMyMeds’ new Electronic Prior Authorization (ePA) National Adoption Scorecard. For those who don’t know, ePA connects all participants to provide real-time information for the PA decision-making process.

Perry explains which industry sectors are adopting ePA, discusses how ePA adoption affects different industry stakeholders, and describes how to pick the best ePA solution. He provides interesting insights on healthcare’s interconnected, technology-enabled future.

To learn more about CoverMyMeds or the Electronic Prior Authorization (ePA) National Adoption Scorecard, email Perry Lewis. You can also meet up with CoverMyMeds National Sales Director, Matthew Coyle, at the 2015 Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit. Email Matthew to arrange a meeting.

In Zarxio: How Channel Dynamics Will Limit the First U.S. Biosimilar, I argue that reimbursement and channel dynamics will slow adoption for Zarxio. Zarxio, a provider-administered specialty drug, is a non-interchangeable biosimilar of Amgen’s Neupogen.

Today, let’s catch up on two important items regarding reimbursement for biosimilars:

• In my original article, I didn’t mention the Affordable Care Act’s special reimbursement formula, which provides additional reimbursement for the biosimilar. Below, I explain this methodology and provide a mathematical example using Neupogen and Zarxio.

• Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a brief Q&A with new details on biosimilars. Highlights below.

Taken together, this information still supports my original conjectures about a moderate pace for adoption for biosimilars paid under the medical benefit—and implies some manufacturer pricing strategies that could influence adoption..

Believe it or not, a crazy rumor about a Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)-Rite Aid transaction is making the rounds on Wall Street.

The rumor accelerated after recent comments by Stefano Pessina, WBA’s acting CEO and current global channels overlord. (See the Reuters article below.) Below, I highlight other recent articles that are feeding the rumor, along with perspective from two reputable investment banks.

I'm skeptical that such a deal will happen, especially because there are other logical acquisition targets (AmerisourceBergen, Diplomat Pharmacy, ULTA Beauty). But given Pessina’s track record and ambitions, we can’t ignore the possibility.

Read on and see if you agree. In case you are wondering: this is not an April Fool's post.

Pharmacy Channel Strategies for Specialty Products

June 23-24, 2015 | Philadelphia, PA

CBI’s Pharmacy Channel Strategies for Specialty Products is designed for key specialty stakeholders to deep dive into the collaboration between specialty pharmacies, retail pharmacies, hospital systems and bio/pharma manufacturers. Join the crowd this June to stay ahead of the curve and optimize your network to ensure patient access and adherence! Visit www.cbinet.com/pharmacychannel for more information.

Don’t miss the chance to gain insight form prominent stakeholders and thought leaders, including:

• Adam J. Fein, Ph.D. President, Pembroke Consulting, Inc.; CEO, Drug Channels Institute
• William Roth, Founding Partner, Blue Fin Group
• Bruce Phelan, Principal Consultant, Blue Fin Group
• Ray Tancredi, Vice President, Specialty Pharmacy, Walgreens
• Mark Montgomery, President and CEO, Axium Healthcare Pharmacy
• Greg Drew, R.Ph., President, Value Drug Company

Drug Channels readers will save $400 off of the standard registration rate when they use code ETZ345.* Register today!

*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.

Wow, the hits keep coming. This morning, Rite Aid announced its acquisition of Just Born, the privately-held Bethlehem, PA, company best known for making delicious Marshmallow Peeps. Read the press release.

To coincide with the deal, Rite Aid also announced a new Peepness+ rewards program. This program unites the drugstore’s front-end and pharmacy sales by allowing consumers to earn Peepness+ "mallow points." The points never expire, so customers can use accrued benefits throughout their lifetime.

The program arrives just in time for the spring candy harvest. Here’s what Troy McClure, Rite Aid's VP of Tobacco, Candy, and Snack Chips (TCSC) told me: “We want to build a lifetime relationship with our customers. For instance, you’ll earn points whenever you spend more than $9.75 on any avian or leporid Peeps marshmallows. Later, when you become an insulin-dependent diabetic, you can redeem your mallow points at our pharmacy.”

Added McClure: “At Rite Aid, we have long viewed candy products, and really the whole TCSC category, as essential to establishing our drugstores as true healthcare destinations.”

Folks, here’s another powerful example of fauxversification. Read on for my competitive analysis of the drugstore industry’s latest innovation.

Yesterday, UnitedHealthcare, which operates the OptumRx pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), announced its acquisition of PBM Catamaran. Read the press release.

Catamaran has long been considered a likely acquisition target in the consolidating PBM business. Yet I was surprised by the timing and the buyer. UnitedHealthcare will pay a 27% premium, which will probably deter potential bidders.

Below, I review the impact on PBMs, manufacturers, wholesalers, and pharmacies. I also consider how the deal will affect the larger companies.

Sadly, Catamaran’s exit will leave the industry high and dry on nautical metaphors…but not before today’s post docks.