Asembia’s Specialty Pharmacy Summit

IQVIA’s Lucas Greenwalt says manufacturers need to provide patient assistance if they want their new brands to meet sales goals as payers devise strategies to cope with cost and the increasing number of ultra-expensive medications skyrockets.

The Build Back Better legislation would have had far-reaching effects on Medicare Parts B and D but the legislation has stalled, and it is unclear if any significant federal legislation affecting specialty pharamcy will pass this year. Meanwhile, several states are addressing white bagging, according to Tracy Russell of CoverMyMeds.

MMIT’s Jayne Hornung says that coverage of prescription digital therapeutics is “very slim” right now but that would likely change with Medicare coverage. And legislation to do just that has been introduced in the House and Senate.

Tracy Russell, senior director of state government affairs at CoverMyMeds addressed what piece of new federal legislation will have the biggest effect on specialty pharmacy and what the Biden administration's emphasis on healthcare equity will do for specialty pharmacy. Russell spoke more on this topic at this year's Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas.

About 6,000 attendees are expected for the meeting next week that will also have Adam Fein and Doug Long as featured speakers.

Growth, competition and equity were among the topics discussed at the Asembia’s 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas this week

3D printing of drugs at home. Simulated drug combinations. Treatments tailored to microbiomes. Deloitte’s George Van Antwerp spun some futuristic scenarios for pharmacy and healthcare at the Asembia specialty pharmacy meeting in Las Vegas.

Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) programs are designed to protect patients, but they can also make providers more confident about prescribing a drug, explained panelists at the Asembia specialty pharmacy meeting. And the FDA collaborates with drugmakers on the planning the particulars of the programs, said Steve Granzyk and Tiffany Abraham.

Ray Tancredi, divisional vice president of specialty pharmacy development and brand rx/vaccine purchasing at Walgreens, will be speaking at Asembia's 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit. In this video Tancredi talks about the drugs that are most significant in the pipeline and what to look for in approvals in the future.

Because families and patients may experience many difficult — and confusing — years prior to a definitive diagnosis of a rare disease, specialty pharmacies need to do everything in their power to make the treatment as navigable as possible, advised Nick Calla, J.D., and Dave Frobel of Orsini Specialty Pharmacy.

Michelle Booth, Pharm.D., of Magellan Rx Management, is speaking at this year's Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit. In this clip Booth speaks about trends in drug spend and the differences among the commercial, Medicare and Medicaid lines of business.

Jim Adams, chief information officer of AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, is a speaker at the 2021 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit. In this clip Adams talks about the relationship between his organization and Walgreens, how telehealth can improve the health of specialty pharmacy patients and more.

Heather Bonome, Pharm.D., pharmacy director at URAC, a healthcare accreditation organization, is a speaker at the 2021 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit. Bonome talks about a defining telehealth, the pandemic's effect on the use of telehealth in specialty pharmacy and whether URAC might add telehealth requirements to its accrediting standards for specialty pharmacies.

Panelist says insights into the needs of particular populations of patients can help.

Members of a panel discussion on market access at Asembia’s specialty pharmacy meeting shared advise and insights into how best win acceptance and improve uptake of new products.

George Van Antwerp, pharmacy and PBM leader of Deloitte, presents at the Asembia 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit and shares framework of specialty pharmacy.

Steve Peskin of Horizon BCBS of NJ, executive medical director of Population Health at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, shares forms of value-based contracting between payers and pharmaceutical companies.

Lance Grady, head of Market Access at Avalere Health, gives a preview of his presentation he gives at Asembia and discusses the significant changes made to specialty pharmacy because of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Pharma industry experts Adam Fein, Ph.D., and Doug Long, MBA, described the growth of specialty pharmacy and the competition for that part of the pharma market during the opening presentation today at the Asembia 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas.