April is over, so it is time to hop into this month’s collection of noteworthy information:
- CVS Well being’s formulary boosts a Humira biosimilar
- An insurer ditches buy-and-bill to economize for plans—however possibly not for sufferers?
- My $0.02 on how Medicare Half D plans will react to the Inflation Discount Act
- Walgreens’ sudden specialty pharmacy power
- A video deconstruction of my notorious Drug Channels article on GoodRx
Plus, a cartoonist illustrates my latest keynote on the battle for oncology margin.
P.S. Be part of my almost 55,000 LinkedIn followers for each day hyperlinks to neat stuff.
Hyrimoz Rx Progress Continues; Humira Biosimilars NRx Share as much as ~43%, EvercoreISI
As I described in January’s overview of PBMs’ 2024 formularies, CVS Caremark started excluding Humira from most (however not all) of its main industrial formularies on April 1. Its 2024 Superior Management Specialty Formulary now accommodates three most popular choices: Hyrimoz, the high-list-price Humira biosimilar from Sandoz; Hyrimoz, the low-list-price Humira biosimilar from Cordavis; and adalimumab-adaz, the unbranded, low-list-price Humira biosimilar from Sandoz.
And guess what? This method drove a noticeable soar in Hyrimoz prescriptions within the first three weeks of April!
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Kudos to Elizabeth Anderson at EvercoreISI for being the primary to identify this inevitable shock.
How our specialty pharmacy program saved greater than $81 million for Tennessee companies, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
Medicare-Negotiated Medication Might Not Get Favorable Protection In Half D: Will CMS Intervene?, The Pink Sheet
Walgreens Launches Gene and Cell Providers as A part of Newly Built-in Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy Enterprise, Enterprise Wire
Judging by final week’s disclosure, we (and lots of others) had considerably underestimated its revenues and market share. Our $8.4 billion determine was roughly correct for the AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy enterprise. Nonetheless, Walgreens apparently additionally generates about $16 billion in specialty revenues from its retail pharmacies and almost 300 community-based specialty pharmacy places. Consequently, its market share is nearer to 10%, in contrast with the three% that we reported.
We look ahead to further transparency in regards to the new Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy enterprise.
How GoodRx Helped Steal $7 From My Pharmacy (That includes Algorithmic Value Fixing), Luke Slindee
The Battle for Oncology Margin, Drug Channels Institute
Whereas I spoke, a cartoonist quickly sketched out an entertaining abstract of my presentation. Even our previous pal SpongeBob SquarePants made an look. Get pleasure from!
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P.S. Some shameless self promotion: Electronic mail Paula if you would like to be taught extra about my keynote talking.