Specialty Pharmacy

MHA announced today that it has entered into a strategic alliance with CoverMyMeds to help facilitate a more efficient process for completing and submitting drug prior authorizations (PAs).

After promising results from early studies, investigators have received approval to start testing daratumumab in patients with multiple myeloma.

A recent trial supports noninferiority of pazopanib and sunitinib in terms of efficacy, with fewer adverse events associated with patient discomfort occurring with pazopanib than with sunitinib.

Inflectra was approved for treatment of inflammatory conditions by the European Medicines Agency based on evidence that it was as effective, safe, and tolerable as its reference drug, Remicade.

UHC, an alliance of the nation's leading nonprofit academic medical centers, is unveiling a new specialty pharmacy program in late 2013/early 2014 to provide patients with access to the specialty medications they need at the hospitals where they are treated.

Carrie Hurwitz, MBA, director, corporate strategy and business development at McKesson, explains why pharmacists may be the health care providers best positioned to recruit patients into clinical trials.

Magellan Health Services Inc. announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Partners Rx, a privately held, full-service commercial pharmacy benefits management company for $100 million.

New online learning tools aim to educate users about crucial pharmaceutical industry topics in 45 minutes or less.

URAC, an independent accreditation organization advancing quality and value throughout health care, announced the launch of 2 new accreditation programs for Clinical Integration and Accountable Care to address the changing healthcare landscape.

As pharmacogenomics continues to progress, specialty pharmacists may dominate treatment for certain diseases.

The National Psoriasis Foundation Medical Board released a statement supporting the prohibition of biosimilar substitution pending the fulfillment of 7 key measures.

Specialty pharmacy programs helped members save approximately $11 million on high cost specialty medicines, reduced medicine misuse.

Sixty-eight percent of patients with preexisting liver damage and other poor prognostic factors treated with a combination of sofosbuvir and ribavirin attained functional cure of hepatitis C, as measured by sustained viral response 24 weeks after the end of treatment.

Another state sets up the pathway for biosimilar substitution; however, the proposed legislation comes with restrictions on that practice.

Einodshofer of Walgreens explains that it can be difficult to convince oncologists with hospital-owned oncology practices to send patients to alternative treatment sites.

Bayer HealthCare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals today announced that the FDA has granted Priority Review designation to the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for the oral multi-kinase inhibitor Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets under evaluation for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

A recent webinar from Zitter Health Insights highlighted the role of hubs and how these patient assistance programs are viewed by various stakeholders in the health care space.

An assessment of costs and specialty drug use within 4 chronic conditions found specialty drugs contribute to overall costs for insurance plan members.

As pharmacogenomics continues to progress, specialty pharmacists may dominate treatment for certain diseases.

Investigators in Spain have identified a relationship between higher-complexity medication regimens and a lower likelihood of sustained viral response (SVR) after treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Agency aims for consistent biosimilar evaluation procedures, while future in US remains unknown.

Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, Avella Specialty Pharmacy, EnvisionRxOptions, Prime Therapeutics, BioRx, and Amber Pharmacy were among the top 20 companies producing the largest revenue in the health section of the Inc. list.

Avella Specialty Pharmacy has been named to Inc. Magazine's 500/5000 list of fastest growing companies in America. Avella has been included in this prestigious group of entrepreneurial ventures since Inc. Magazine started the listing in 2006.

In a new study published in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy, investigators interviewed patients and pharmacists about the costs and benefits of obtaining antiretroviral therapies from a community pharmacy.

Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy announced today that Cheryl Allen, RPh, has been promoted to vice president of business development and industry relations.

Despite the high efficacy of imatinib to treat patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), a recent article review of multiple GIST studies reveals that a large number of patients still achieve suboptimal adherence levels.

Some pharmaceutical manufacturers choose a limited distribution model for their specialty product so that they can ensure all standards of care and reporting associated with that therapy are upheld, noted Duane Barnes, senior vice president, consumer delivery, Prime Therapeutics, at the 2013 Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit.

In the first reported clinical study of topical tofacitinib, investigators concluded that the Janus kinase inhibitor effectively reduced the clinical signs of psoriasis.