Analysis

Informa Connect’s Trade and Channel Strategies
December 10-12, 2024 at the W Hotel in Philadelphia, PA
Drug Channels readers save 10% with code 24DC10*

Pharmacy and distribution models are growing increasingly complex. Stop running in circles—It’s time to unlock proven strategies to propel market access.

What is the secret to success? Trade and Channel Strategies is bringing together industry experts to deliver specific strategies and talk best practices in tackling the latest industry challenges.

As the landscape rapidly evolves, there are only two choices—Adapt or risk falling behind. With policy changes and market fluctuations, specifically surrounding the DSCSA and IRA, the loss of exclusivity wave, adoption of low-WAC products affecting GTN and the rise of innovations within the pharmacy sector, there has never been a more important time for industry to unite. A program driven by market dynamics and led by champions of channel strategy, join your peers now to master the complexities of pharmacy and distribution models to accelerate market access—It's all happening December 10-12.

Why do trade and channel professionals choose this pivotal event?

The challenge of staying viable among shifting market dynamics while meeting business objectives is heavy. Professionals are left with many questions, including:

• How will the new administration affect the distribution channel?
• Is my organization haemorrhaging money to stay afloat with the shift to alternative distribution and pharmacy models?
• Does the DSCSA deadline change affect my organization? Am I still prepared?

Join the experts for three dedicated days of collaborative discussions that will give you the answers to these questions and so many more. Leaders in the landscape are uniting and will dive into the top trends for innovative distribution, integrated pharmacy models and talk the truth about the future of trade.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?

Vital insights from industry’s leading pharmacy and distribution experts, including:

• Bill Roth, Senior Vice President of Consulting, Blue Fin Group, An IntegriChain Company
• Patrick Lupo Group Vice President, Pharmacy Trade and Specialty, Walgreens
• Amanda Salindong, Associate Director, Channel & Distribution, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
• Chris Rocco, Senior Director, Market Access Data, Reporting & Analytics, GSK
• Eliane Maalouf, Director Trade and Fulfillment, Mass General Brigham Specialty Pharmacy
• Stephanie Wirkes, Head of Distribution and Strategy Execution, Bayer
• John Harlow, Chief Commercial Officer, Melinta Therapeutics
• Aria Cohen, Vice President, Head of Market Access, Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Elizabeth Cherry, Program Director for Trade Relations, Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy
• Danielle Bryan, PharmD, CSP, Program Director, Specialty Pharmacy Trade Relations, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Thomas Scalone, Director, Trade Strategy and Operations, Bristol Myers Squibb
• Dina Lynch, VP, Market Access and Reimbursement, Renibus Therapeutics
• And more!

Tackle the hottest topics facing industry right now, including:

• Keynote Address: Access and Channel 2024 In-Review and Preview of 2025
• Pharmacy Evolved—Aligning Commercialization to the Changing Pharmacy Channel
• Advanced Trade Leaders Executive Session
• Navigate and Operationalize the IRA
• Focused Multi-Track Offerings:
  • Supply Chain, Distribution and Logistics
  • Pharmacy Models and Reimbursement Strategies
  • Data, Innovation and Analytics
  • Health Systems and Pharma Partnering Symposium
• Balancing the GTN Bubble with Market Access Priorities
• What’s Happening in Retail—Brick and Morter, Home Delivery and Cash Pay Pharmacies
• Navigating Post Deadline Challenges—DSCSA Compliance and Serialization Updates
• Four Roundtable Breakout Discussions:
  • What Good Looks Like in a 3PL/Manufacturer Partnership
  • Optimizing Healthcare Partnerships
  • Women in Trade
  • GLP-1s and New Product Archetypes
• Actions Needed to Mitigate and Prevent Drug Shortages
• Case Study: Master Your Organization Chart—Ensuring Higher Cross Functional Interactions
• Three Interactive Workshops:
  • Trade 101
  • Advanced Trade Leaders Executive Session
  • Health Systems Fundamentals
• And more!

Exclusive Offer—Download the agenda and register today—Be sure to use your exclusive promo 24DC10 to save 10% off* of your registration.

See you there!

* Cannot be combined with other offers, promotions or applied to an existing registration. Other restrictions may apply.

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The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of HMP Omnimedia, LLC, Drug Channels Institute, its parent company, or any of its employees. To find out how you can promote an event on Drug Channels, please contact Paula Fein (paula@DrugChannels.net).

Today’s guest post comes from Greg Skalicky, President, EVERSANA and Faruk Abdullah, President, Professional Services & Chief Business Officer, EVERSANA

Greg and Faruk walk through the marketplace pressures driving Direct-to-Patient commercialization models. They argue that a technology-enabled infrastructure, combined with clinical and reimbursement support specialists, can improve patients' access to new therapies, shorten the time to therapy, and enable better overall clinical outcomes.

Click here to learn more about EVERSANA’s Direct-to-Patient care model.

Read on for Greg and Faruk’s insights.

A new survey of plan sponsors sheds light on their satisfaction with transparency at large and small pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

As you will see, clients remain slightly more satisfied with the perceived transparency of smaller PBMs compared with the Big Three PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and Optum Rx.

However, plan sponsors are dissatisfied with transparency about how both large and small PBMs make money. Smaller PBMs have an edge, but it’s narrower than you might think.

Perhaps PBMs’ clients are unable or unwilling to negotiate better deals, write more effective contracts, and switch to more satisfying relationships. Or maybe they don’t mind the current system, despite the challenges for patients. Some argue that transparency could swoop down to solve this problem. Riddle me this: Should we watch what plan sponsors say, or what they do?

Read on to see what you think of my arguments below. Then, click here to share your thoughts with the Drug Channels community.

Today’s guest post comes from Angie Franks, Chief Executive Officer of Kalderos.

Angie discusses how the Maximum Fair Price provision of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will challenge providers, pharmacies, and manufacturers. She explains how Kalderos’ Truzo platform could reduce duplicate claims and address compliance issues.

To learn more, register for Kalderos’ October 25 webinar Cracking the MFP Code: How Flexible Technology Helps You Navigate an Evolving Landscape.

Read on for Angie’s insights.

As regular readers of Drug Channels know, U.S. distribution and dispensing channels for prescription drugs are undergoing significant evolution and consolidation as the changing economics of pharmaceuticals challenge conventional business models.

During this period of volatility, the core business model of the Big Three public pharmaceutical distribution companies—Cardinal Health, Cencora, and McKesson—remains intact. Put simply: Buy low, sell high, collect early, and pay late.

But as I explain below, wholesalers continue to position themselves as essential intermediaries by expanding their industry position and strengthening their economic fundamentals.

Read on for five key pricing, pharmacy, provider, and manufacturer trends that are driving the U.S. drug wholesaling industry.

For even more, check out DCI's new 2024-25 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors, the fifteenth edition of our deep dive into wholesale distribution channels.Click here to download a free report overview (including key industry trends, the table of contents, and a list of exhibits)

I am pleased to announce Drug Channels Institute's new 2024–25 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors, available for purchase and immediate download.

• Download a free report overview (including key industry trends, the Table of Contents, and a List of Exhibits)

• Review pricing/license options and download the full 2024-25 report

We’re offering special discounted pricing if you order before October 23, 2024.

2024–25 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors—our 15th edition--remains the most comprehensive, fact-based tool for understanding and analyzing the large and growing U.S. pharmaceutical distribution industry. This 2024-25 edition includes substantial new material—outlined on page vii of the report overview.

9 chapters, 380+ pages, 178 exhibits, more than 750 endnotes: There is nothing else available that comes close to this valuable resource.

You can pay online with all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) or via PayPal. Click here to contact us if you would like to pay by corporate check or ACH.

Email Paula Fein (paula@drugchannels.net) if you’d like to bundle your report purchase with access to DCI’s video webinars.

If you preordered the report, you should have already received an email with download instructions last week. Please contact us if you did not receive your email.

Read on for some additional details.

Informa Connect’s PBM Contracting Summit
December 10-11, 2024 | Chicago, IL
Drug Channels readers save 10% with code 24DRCH10*

Experts from across the US come together each year at the PBM Contracting Summit to gain innovative and practical contracting strategies, master PBM innovation and design, improve patient care management and rising costs, understand the current legislative issues impacting contract negotiations and more. Join us in Chicago (or virtually) where you’ll benefit from two days of learning, education and networking, and will return to the office having mastered the complex PBM landscape.

You’ll hear from Matthew Gibbs, Pharm.D., Pharmacy Transformation Leader of Blue Shield of California as he leads a comprehensive discussion on the PBM landscape over the last year, and delves into the evolving trends and emerging challenges shaping the current industry today.

Other expert and thought leaders from within the industry are slated to present deep dive sessions, workshops and panels that will answer your most pressing questions:

• What are the latest legislative updates and proposed federal bills impacting PBM operations?
• What's on the horizon for alternative PBMs? What are the top intricacies of rebate eligibility? What are the market impacts of innovative models such as Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs and Amazon's pharmacy model?
• What can be learned from the J&J lawsuit? Review the expansion of data access and the importance of employer's fiduciary duties.
• What are the challenges of vertical integration?
• How do PBMs manage their contracting processes with plan sponsors to create successful contracts?
• What are the most effective strategies for spread pricing and reimbursement models?
• What is the best solution to navigate the challenges of the 340B drug pricing program and PBM contracting?
• What is the best way to design and optimize benefits for covering GLP-1s?
• How can I ensure compliance with ERISA requirements?
• What are the latest developments in copay maximizer and accumulator programs?
• What market dynamics and barriers are impacting pricing and demand?
• What can be learned from the economic landscape of biosimilars and specialty therapeutics?
• And much more!

View the agenda for the PBM Contracting Summit to see the complete picture – the program, speakers, and more, visit www.informaconnect.com/pbm-contracting for further details and to register. Drug Channels readers will save 10% off when they use code 24DRCH10 and register prior to November 8, 2024.*

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

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The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of HMP Omnimedia, LLC, Drug Channels Institute, its parent company, or any of its employees. To find out how you can promote an event on Drug Channels, please contact Paula Fein (paula@DrugChannels.net).

Today’s guest post comes from Timothy Nielsen, Vice President of Customer Success at AssistRx.

Timothy discusses the affordability and patient journey challenges of specialty-lite products for patients, manufacturers, and health care providers. He explains how AssistRx's Advanced Access Anywhere (AAA) solution streamlines processes for specialty-lite products and facilitates enrollment via a digital hub.

To learn more, register for AssistRx's free webinar on October 8: Meet Your Patients Where They Are & Gain Visibility: Even at Retail.

Read on for Timothy’s insights.

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while we put the finishing touches on DCI’s new 2024-25 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors.

The article below highlights an underappreciated consequence of the Inflation Reduction Act’s inflation rebates for Medicare Part B drugs. Last night, I posted an updated analysis showing that the volatility in seniors' coinsurance rates continues. For the fourther quarter of 2024, coinsurance rates for 51 drugs increased, while rates for only 19 drugs decreased. What's more, rates for 17 drugs returned to their original 20% level. Click here to see our original post from May 2024.

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Contrary to what you may have heard, the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) inflation rebates for Medicare Part B drugs do not always save money for seniors.

As we document below, a growing share of Part B drugs have inflation-adjusted coinsurance rates that have been increasing, not declining. In many cases, the coinsurance rate declines only briefly before rebounding back to the standard 20% rate. What’s more, these fluctuations have triggered huge jumps in patients’ out-of-pocket obligations for some drugs—even when a drug’s costs were falling.

Chalk off these coinsurance surprises to yet another unintended consequence of the IRA. Seniors who are expecting to see costs drop may find they are instead being taken for a rollercoaster ride.

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while we put the finishing touches on DCI’s new 2024-25 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors.

Click here to see the original post from June 2024.

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The 340B contract pharmacy market shows little sign of slowing down. Drug Channels Institute’s exclusive analysis of the 2024 market reveals that:

• About 33,000 pharmacy locations—more than half of the entire U.S. pharmacy industry—act as contract pharmacies for the hospitals and federal grantees that participate in the 340B program.

• Five multi-billion-dollar, for-profit, publicly traded pharmacy chains and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)—Cigna (via Express Scripts), CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group (via Optum Rx), and Walgreens, Walmart—continue to dominate the 340B contract pharmacy market.

• Over the past four years, manufacturers’ restrictions on 340B contract pharmacies have led hospitals to deepen their relationships with the largest PBMs—even as those PBMs have simultaneously limited hospitals’ direct participation in specialty pharmacy networks.

For an updated look at what’s next for the 340B contract pharmacy market, join Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., on June 21 for his latest live video webinar: The 340B Drug Pricing Program: Trends, Controversies, and Outlook.