Formulary Watch |

The bulk of Cigna’s $195.3 billion 2023 revenue comes from Evernorth. And Cigna is positioning itself to grow Evernorth even more.

New research finds that in 2022, U.S. prices across all drugs were almost three times higher than in other countries.

Biogen will focus its resources on Leqembi and research of other treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

The FDA orders new warnings for CAR-T cell therapies due to reports of T-cell malignancies, including fatal cases, applying to BCMA- and CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T-cell immunotherapies.

CVS Caremark will continue to manage specialty drug benefits for Tyson Foods.

Joseph M. Shields talks about the formation of Transparency-Rx and its goals of achieving PBM reform that focuses on “corrective steps to address the misalignment in the marketplace to ensure that there’s competition and choice.”

Coverage of contraceptives and contraceptive care without cost-sharing is required under the Affordable Care Act.

Current treatments for urea cycle disorders, which causes ammonia to build up in the blood, have a bitter taste and smell. Pheburane was developed with a special coating that masks the taste of sodium phenylbutyrate. It has a list price of $4,375 per bottle.

Peter Rubin of No Patient Left Behind worries that patients may not see benefits, either in lowered costs or continued investment in new therapies, from drug price negotiations required under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Last year saw the approval of several firsts, including the first vaccines to prevent respiratory syncytial virus in older adults and infants and a first vaccine to prevent the mosquito-borne virus chikungunya.

A 2020 rule stands in which copay assistance from pharmaceutical companies counts toward deductibles for brand name drugs without a generic competition.

IQVIA’s most recent Global Use of Medicines report projected that market introductions of new biosimilar and generic drugs will increase projected losses for originator products from $111 billion to $192 billion over the next five years.

Less flexible plans, such as health maintenance organizations, are more likely to use biosimilar therapies than more flexible plans.

UnitedHealth Group executives attribute the increase of revenue at Optum Rx to the addition of new clients, expanded relationships with existing clients, and advancements in services.

Clients are cautious about how the cost in “cost-plus” programs is determined, how rebates factor in and the benchmarks used, says Navitus’s Brent Eberle.