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Here’s what you missed this week on Managed Healthcare Executive.

Originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1s) are now being studied to explore their effects on various other conditions, such as sleep apnea, substance use disorder and Alzheimer’s disease, according to panelists participating in a keynote session of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy annual meeting today in Houston.

Maria Lowe, Ph.D., associate vice president of Pharmaceutical Intelligence at Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) addresses the possible gene therapies that we could see reach the market this year.

Maria Lowe, Pharm.D., BCPS, associate vice president of pharmaceutical intelligence at the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, described specialty drugs as high-cost treatments requiring complex handling or disease management and highlighted key upcoming approvals, including a new PCSK9 inhibitor for lipid lowering and tolebrutinib, a Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, which could become the first in its class approved for multiple sclerosis.

Julie Patterson, Pharm.D., Ph.D., of the National Pharmaceutical Council, tells Managed Healthcare Executive at the annual AMCP meeting in Houston that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a policy that seems to be leading to more consequences than it is benefits.

At the AMCP 2025 meeting, Julie Patterson, Pharm.D., Ph.D., of the National Pharmaceutical Council, explained that the impact of the IRA drug negotiation program on patient access is still unclear, but early research shows that coverage for selected drugs has been strong. However, as Medicare Part D undergoes changes, there are concerns about how plan incentives, formulary design and utilization management might affect future access.

Juan Carlos Scott, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), and Marissa Schlaifer, RPh, M.S., vice president of policy at Optum.

Scott Biggs and Douglas M. Long of IQVIA delivered a keynote on 2024-2025 healthcare and pharmaceutical trends, highlighting drug shortages, pharmacy closures, and the United States dependence on imported pharmaceuticals.

Co-presenter, Sean Shirk, Pharm.D., director of specialty clinical solutions at Prime Therapeutics, discussed this topic during a presentation on legislative impacts on site of service at the AMCP 2025 annual meeting in Houston on Tuesday.

Researchers say payers should take the added costs of drugs prescribed to deal with GLP-1 side effects into account when considering the financial impact of the popular class of drugs.

Balancing the cost, access to and risk management of CAR-T cell therapies is critical, according to a panel of experts who presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy in Houston.

Originally approved by the FDA in September 2023, Biogen's Tofidence became the first tocilizumab biosimilar available in the U.S. market, launching in May 2024.

Digital solutions are needed in healthcare now so that more patients can get the access that they need, according to Vin Gupta, M.D., MPA, former chief medical officer of Amazon Pharmacy and a leading health policy expert.

The annual meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy will take place in Houston from March 31 - April 3 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Finerenone, a nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, has been studied extensively in patients with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction.

Results from the SUMMIT trial suggest that tirzepatide is as effective in preventing heart failure events in those with chronic kidney disease as those without it, and there are signals that it has benefits for renal function.

Marc Humbert, M.D., Ph.D., professor of respiratory medicine at Université Paris-Saclay and Inserm, believes that recent clinical trials have reinforced the potential of Winrevair (sotatercept) as a breakthrough in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) treatment.

Factor XI Inhibitors are the alternative to DOACs, which are highly effective at preventing strokes. However, their bleeding risks often limit their use, especially in high-risk patients.

In an interview with Managed Healthcare Executive, Christian T. Ruff, M.D., M.P.H., director of general cardiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, addressed the uncertainty of the bleeding risks of abelacimab compared to rivaroxaban and highlighted abelacimab’s safety profile.

In this second part of his interview with Managed Healthcare Executive, John B. Buse, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine and director of the UNC's Diabetes Care Center, discusses lifestyle management and GLP-1s.

John B. Buse, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine and director of the UNC's Diabetes Care Center, pointed to research that has shown a price of $150 per month would make the GLP-1s cost-effective as a prevention measure.

Here’s what you missed this week on Managed Healthcare Executive.

The largest randomized study of fluid intake restrictions showed no benefit from the restrictions, according to its senior author.

Experts at City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment center, believe that AI tools will continue to improve precision medicine, streamline patient care and increase access to clinical trials.

Researchers report yet another positive finding for GLP-1s. The participants in this trial had lower BMIs than the participants in the many other trials that have shown the benefits of the GLP-1s.

The results are one of 10 from the FINEARTS-HF that are scheduled for presentation at the