Analysis

Informa Connect’s IDN & Bio/Pharma Partnering Summit Hybrid Event
August 16-17, 2022 | Philadelphia, PA
www.informaconnect.com/IDN

Don’t miss the IDN & Bio/Pharma Partnering Summit coming up this summer in Philadelphia, where you'll be part of the important discussions on how to best optimize strategic partnerships to improve patient access and outcomes. This event showcases novel case studies and in-depth sessions that focus on innovative partnership models that will aid in delivering enhanced value, manageable costs and high-quality results.

Visit www.informaconnect.com/IDN for further details and to register. Drug Channels readers will save 10% off when they use code 22DRCH10 and register prior to June 31, 2022.*

The 2022 format includes 2 days of in-person programming, plus a virtual offering of select sessions and recorded presentations available on-demand for 12 months following the conference. Both the in-person and virtual options will include networking opportunities to connect with industry peers and colleagues.

The Summit features coverage on the hottest topics impacting you today, from speakers representing Atrium Health, Bayer, Cone Health, CSL Behring, Fairview Health Services, Nebraska Medicine, NYU Langone Health System, Pfizer, Quil Health, Tempus Labs, TG Therapeutics, University of California, Davis, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Pharmacy, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy and Vifor Pharma.

View the agenda to see the complete picture – the program, speakers, and more!

Visit www.informaconnect.com/IDN for further details and to register. Drug Channels readers will save 10% off when they use code 22DRCH10 and register prior to June 31, 2022.*

*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 Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, 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 Edward Hensley, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at AssistRx.

Edward offers five ways life sciences companies can use technology to transform their patient support services and thus differentiate their products.

To learn more, sign up for AssistRx’s free webinar Specialty Pharma’s 2022 Patient Support Trends: Progress Check.

Read on for Edward’s insights.

Time for an update to the Drug Channels Institute (DCI) annual analysis of pharmacist salaries and employment.

The retail pharmacy shakeout affected 2021 pharmacist employment. We found that retail pharmacies and drugstores employed fewer pharmacists, while hospitals and outpatient centers continued to add positions. As a result, the share of pharmacists who work in non-retail practice settings reached a new high.

What’s more, average base salaries for retail pharmacists dropped for the second year, while salaries continued to rise for pharmacists employed by hospitals, physician offices, and other non-retail settings. Full salary data below for your enjoyment or sorrow.

As expected, the past few years have been highly challenging for retail-employed pharmacists. Expect further declines as the shakeout continues.

Today’s guest post comes from Bonnie Briggs, Associate Director of Clinical Effectiveness at Wolters Kluwer, Health.

Bonnie describes how pharmaceutical care would benefit from standard medical record identification. She then discusses the practical issues behind implementing and adopting such a system.

To learn more, download the Wolters Kluwer free ebook: Drug Data Unity: Realistic and Idealistic Futures for Information Exchange.

Read on for Bonnie’s insights.

Summer unofficially began over the weekend. Let’s turn up the heat with these sizzling news bites straight from the Drug Channels grill:

• SaveonSP gets sued

• Thoughts on the Medicaid accumulator rule opinion

• CVS buys AmerisourceBergen’s specialty pharmacy

• Fresh data on hospitals’ cancer drug profiteering

Plus, Dr. Glaucomflecken explains Aetna’s prior authorization policies.

P.S. Join my more than 27,000 LinkedIn followers for daily links to neat stuff. You can also find my daily posts at @DrugChannels on Twitter, where I have more than 14,000 followers.

A few weeks ago, GoodRx surprised investors with the unpleasant news that a major grocery chain had stopped accepting its discount card for an unspecified number of prescriptions. As I explain below, the unnamed chain appears to be Kroger—the sixth-largest U.S. pharmacy. What’s more, GoodRx disclosed that Kroger accounts for an unexpected one-quarter of its prescription business.

The GoodRx situation highlights crucial issues about the complex web of relationships and conflicts that support today’s discount card model. Below, I break down the economics of the discount card business to help frame the outlook for discount cards.

As I explain, discount cards are really just another form of spread pricing. As the market for patient-paid prescriptions has expanded, disputes about the appropriate split of these spreads will pressure pharmacy-PBM relationships and drive change in the discount card business model.

A well-known African proverb states: “When elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers.” Will investors continue to support GoodRx—or move on to greener pastures? Read on and see what you think.

Today’s guest post comes from Jane Barlow, Chief Clinical Officer, and Susan Raiola, President of Real Endpoints.

Jane and Susan discuss the mechanism and benefits of warranties in the realm of value-based contracts.

To learn more about payer-pharma warranty contracts and whether these agreements can solve issues that limit the utility of more traditional value-based contracts, sign up for Real Endpoints’ free June 9 webinar: Putting Innovative Contracts Under Warranty.

Read on for Jane’s and Susan’s insights.

Two weeks ago, Paula and I had the pleasure of attending Asembia’s 2022 Specialty Pharmacy Summit at the wonderful Wynn Las Vegas.

Below, I violate Vegas code and tell you what happened there. I offer reflections on my keynote session with Scott Gottlieb, share my experiences during the featured session, and highlight three crucial specialty industry trends.

You’ll also find a link to my general session slides and some fun photos.

Enjoy!

Time for Drug Channels’ annual update on pricing at the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers. This year’s review includes 10 companies: Eli Lilly and Company, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Takeda, and UCB. You can find links to each company’s data below.

When rebates and discounts were factored in, brand-name drug prices declined—or grew slowly—in 2021. Consistent with our previous analyses, rebates and discounts reduced the selling prices of brand-name drugs to less than half of their list prices.

What’s more, average net drug prices have declined for the past five years—though a few companies had net price gains or slower declines in 2021.

As I have pointed out many times, pharma industry perma-critics refuse to accept that brand-name drug prices are falling—or that prescription drug spending is a small and stable portion of overall U.S. healthcare expenditures. That’s why I refer to them as drug pricing flat earthers (#DPFE).

As famous economist John Maynard Keynes reportedly said: “When the facts change, I change my mind.” What will the DPFEs do?