Asembia’s Specialty Pharmacy Summit

High costs and the novelty and complexity of new therapies such as gene therapy present social determinants of health and health literacy challenges, says Tiara Green, president of Accessia Health

Cost is a barrier to care for chronic and rare diseases, so financial assistance is way to lower that barrier and help people manage their health condition, says Green, president of Accessia Health

Digital pharmacy solutions can help brick and mortar locations become more efficient, according to Sarah Thomas, VP of sales and commercialization at HealthDyne and David Skomo, COO of HealthDyne.

A growing and more diverse pipeline means that there is a greater need for digital innovations, which can address affordability, access and industry collaboration, according to Sarah Thomas, VP of sales and commercialization at HealthDyne and David Skomo, COO of HealthDyne.

Payers and providers, often depicted as rivals, are on the same side when it comes to the 340B program that allows some hospitals to buy drugs at steep discounts, according to Milliman experts.

Becky Davis of Charles River Associates predicts that an influx of new and oral GLP-1 drugs, along with pricing pressures from policy and competition, will reshape the weight loss drug market in the next two years.

At the 2024 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit, Becky Davis, principal at Charles River Associates, discussed how employer-based insurance coverage for GLP-1s remains uneven—and what factors are influencing decisions about access to these weight-loss treatments.

At this year’s Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas, Managed Healthcare Executive spoke with John Beardsley, senior vice president of corporate business development at CoverMyMeds, and Fauzea Husain, vice president of public policy at McKesson, about what potentially lies ahead for the Inflation Reduction Act under this Trump administration.

At the 2025 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas, John Beardsley, senior vice president of corporate business development at CoverMyMeds, and Fauzea Husain, vice president of public policy at McKesson, discussed the future of Medicare drug pricing, including potential changes to the “pill penalty” and efforts to improve transparency in the negotiation process.

Kathi Henson, senior vice president of patient services, nursing and quality at Orsini, spoke with MHE editors at this year’s Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas about how analytics and AI are shaping the future of specialty pharmacy. She highlighted the unique role data plays in improving patient outcomes, managing rising costs and maintaining high standards of care in an increasingly complex field.

Fran Gregory, PharmD, MBA, VP of emerging therapies at Cardinal Health, talks about the importance of market access strategies in the cell and gene therapy space.

The actor expressed some regret as well as gratitude in talking about the death of his 33-year-old son from a rare form of sarcoma.

Joe DePinto from McKesson discussed the challenges facing cell and gene therapies, particularly around reimbursement, and highlighted successful strategies to speed up access. He also shared optimism for the future, with many products already achieving blockbuster status and more expected by 2030.

Joe DePinto, MBA, head of cell, gene and advanced therapies at McKesson , met with MHE at the annual Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas this week to give some insight on where we are with cell and gene therapies, as well as looking at Pfizer's discontinued hemophilia B gene therapy, Beqvez (fidanacogene elaparvovec-dzkt).

A future where healthcare may include augmented reality, robots and drones may be more fact than fiction, says George Van Antwerp, SVP of product innovation and strategic planning at Prime Therapeutics.

As healthcare AI evolves, there will be a greater emphasis on streamlining administrative tasks, drug production and service delivery, according to George Van Antwerp, SVP of product innovation and strategic planning at Prime Therapeutics.

Shawn Griffin, M.D., president and CEO of URAC, shared his insights into best practices for promoting health equity during the annual Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas today.

At this year’s Asembia conference in Las Vegas, Shawn Griffin, M.D., president and CEO of URAC, spoke about the need for strong leadership and community-based data in specialty pharmacies to identify and address health disparities, which will then improve care for all patients.

Healthcare hasn't been a priority of the second Trump administration so far, panelists at the Asembia agreed. Medicaid may loom large, though, as the administration and congressional Republicans look for ways to slash government spending as a way of offsetting major tax cuts.

The margins are small, and the services they provide must be “high touch.” 340B participation and cost-plus pricing are floated as tactics the pharmacies might use to improve their economics.

The vice president and lead of IQVIA's Market Access Center of Excellence says fewer drugs are hitting the $100 million mark during their first year on the market than in the past.

The vice president and market lead of IQVIA's Market Center of Excellence gives some insight intot the title of his talk today at Asembia meeting.

McElya, senior director, clinical pharmacy at Walgreens, notes that approximately half of the drugs approved by the FDA last year were first-in-class drugs.

The splashy meeting with more than 7,000 people in attendance reflects the growth of the specialty pharmacy sector.

Health plans that use Optum Rx as their pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) will be allowed to tier their coverage of GLP-1s and still receive rebates under an agreement the PBM has reached with the manufacturers, says the PBM president. Optum officials said later that the negotiations were still ongoing,

Earlier this week at the 2024 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas, Managed Healthcare Executive editors spoke with Bill McElnea, vice president of population health at Shields Health Solutions, about specialty pharmacies reducing costs for patients.