Specialty Pharmacy

Beckie Fenrick, PharmD, MBA, discusses emerging trends in specialty pharmacy including companion diagnostics and personalized care.

Girls who received mantle radiation for childhood cancer were found to be at elevated risk for secondary breast cancer later in life.

Afatinib shows promise as a treatment for patients with advanced lung adenocarcinomas who tested positive for EGFR mutations.

A new single agent called dabrafenib for the treatment of metastatic melanoma appears to significantly slow progression of the disease, according to reports from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting.

Employers are concerned with worker health behaviors and want to control spending on expensive specialty medications, according to a new survey released by Express Scripts.

Testing this sample of the population could help identify more than 800,000 new cases of hepatitis C and address the largely preventable consequences of the condition.

Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions today launched PathWare Decision Transaction Solutions, a new technology system that makes it easier for payors and physicians to work together to implement programs that improve the quality and cost of caring for patients.

Vital Care, Inc recently announced that its network of franchised home infusion pharmacies has expanded to Indiana.

Michael Einodshofer, RPh, MBA, Director of Utilization Management, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, addresses site of care optimization as a strategy for health plans to lower costs on specialty drugs.

Researchers will receive $7.9 million over the next 5 years to test the effects of intranasal insulin therapy on patients with mild cognitive impairment and mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

In this AJMC video, Surya Singh, MD, vice president, medical benefit management, CVS Caremark, discusses a variety of approaches used to stem the rise of costs associated with oncology.

The plan marks the creation of a landmark national strategy to increase public awareness of Alzheimer's disease.

Patients with certain preexisting heart conditions, history of stroke, or those who are taking antiarrhythmic medications are being advised to use the oral MS agent Gilenya cautiously.

An FDA advisory panel has recommended Truvada as a pre-exposure prophylaxis for people at risk of contracting HIV.

Biogen Idec recently announced that United States and European Union regulatory authorities have accepted the company's marketing applications for the review of BG-12 (dimethyl fumarate), an oral therapeutic candidate for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The committee voted 8-2 to recommend approval of the investigational agent tofacitinib, and an FDA decision could come as early as August.

The Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care professionals and patients about injuries and death associated with the use of an experimental procedure sometimes called "liberation therapy" or the "liberation procedure" to treat chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI).

Modifying the activity of the gene that becomes mutated in Parkinson's disease may alter disease progression.

H.D. Smith, among the nation's largest pharmaceutical wholesalers, recently announced a 3-year prime vendor agreement with PharmacyGPO, a buying group that services independent community pharmacies across the United States.

More than 75 million dollars worth of stolen medications was recently recovered from a Florida warehouse.

FDA releases a safety announcement saying that patients treated with Revlimid (lenalidomide) may be at an increased risk of developing new types of cancer.

Walgreen Co. announced that it has completed its acquisition of certain assets of BioScrip, Inc's community specialty pharmacies and centralized specialty and mail service pharmacy businesses.

Access to food and shelter, rather than viral load count, is a better predictor of overall health among homeless HIV-infected men, according to a recent study.

Facing new agents and rising costs, payers continue to tighten their management of oncology.

Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy is adding 6 medications to its oral oncology cycle management program, in a significant expansion of the comprehensive treatment and support program it provides to benefit patients, physicians and payers.

The FDA approved Elelyso (taliglucerase alfa), the first drug ever produced in a genetically engineered plant cell.

Women with autoimmune disorders such as RA generally have fewer children than they would like to have, according to a survey that appeared recently in Arthritis Care and Research.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Afinitor (everolimus) tablets for the treatment of adult patients with kidney tumors known as renal angiomyolipomas and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), who do not require immediate surgery.

The United States Food and Drug Administration approved Votrient (pazopanib) to treat patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma who have previously received chemotherapy. Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer that begins in the muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, and other tissues.

The specialty drug trend is projected to rise 17.1% in 2012, 19% in 2013, and 22% in 2014.