They are the trendy way to lose weight and payers have been noticing an increase in GLP-1 claims. An analysis of the pharmacy and healthcare claims of a small commercial health plan in Texas documents the growth in the off-label usage of the GLP-1s, such as Ozempic, for weight loss.

The IQVIA vice president sees trouble for generics manufacturers, but painted a bright picture for biosimilars during his keynote address at the annual meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP).

The co-host of Good Morning America spoke about her experience when she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome.

Costs have always figured into drug coverage decisions, but value assessments have become a separate and more formalized part of the process at payer organizations, said members of a panel on value frameworks at the 2023 AMCP annual meeting. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) came up often during the discussion.

Stem cell transplants are not being proposed as treatments for HIV, but this case and a handful of others offer promising confirmation that HIV is not entirely incurable.

A pavilion devoted to prescription digital therapeutics and an educational track devoted to biosimilars are new this year.

Sandoz will now launch both high-concentration and low-concentration versions of Hyrimoz (adalimumab-adaz) in July.

Commercial plans haven’t traditionally covered hearing aids.

Amid a growing population of older people, many with chronic diseases, personal emergency response systems can be a way to reduce preventable hospitalizations.

The known benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in pregnant persons living with HIV outweigh the risks, which include low-birth weight and metabolic complications for the pregnant person, says the lead author of a review article ART and adverse outcomes published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This part of the month's cover story series features Suzanne Delbanco, Ph.D., M.P.H., executive director of the Catalyst for Payment Reform, who has the provocative suggestion of flipping physician payment so primary care physicians are paid more, not less, than specialists. “We spend so much more on specialists than we do on primary care. While a specialist can help people who are already ill, primary care doctors can help people from becoming ill,” she says.

But transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) edged out interferential current therapy (IFT) on several measures.

Even if the Federal Trade Commission were to ban noncompetes, legal challenges to block the ban are nearly certain.

The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation has applied to have Rituxan, Mavenclad and Copaxone added to the World Health Organization’s list of essential medications.

In his keynote at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology Association Safi R. Bahcall, Ph.D., a physicist and entrepreneur, spoke about how seemingly crazy ideas can lead to breakthroughs.

Findings from a mouse model suggest that encapsulating anandamide, an endocannabinoid, could be a way to make it an effective treatment for cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE).

VISIBLE is focused on answering data gaps in people of color with psoriasis. Lead investigator Andrew F. Alexis, M.D., hopes the study will generate data to help address care gaps and inform future best practices in diversity research in dermatology.

The researchers say their findings argue for dermatologists embracing TikTok and promoting more high-quality content on it and other social media platforms.

Checkpoint inhibitors, such as Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab), are playing a major role in cancer treatment. But they also produce side effects that affect the skin. Steven Chen, M.D., M.P.H., M.H.P. Ed., said dermatologists need to work with oncologists to manage the side effects so patients can stay on checkpoint inhibitors.

Longer-term use of Opzelura was well tolerated, with no serious treatment-related adverse events, according to a poster presented at the annual dermatology meeting.

Women who are pregnant don’t have to stop all of their treatments during pregnancy. Some can be safely treated for their psoriasis or eczema, according to a presentation today at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Research shows that short-term exposure to wildfire air pollution can affect the skin and cause flares of certain skin conditions.

After initial treatment, Opzelura used on an as-needed basis was able to control symptoms of atopic dermatitis and helped patients sleep, according to a poster presented at the annual dermatology meeting.

Although not a common complication of hip, knee and other metal implants, the number of allergic reactions is growing, partly the number of joint replacements is growing, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. Nickel is the most common contact allergen.