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United Health Foundation, the charitable branch of UnitedHealth Group, awarded more than $7 million in grants to organizations in Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico and Wisconsin to improve maternal and infant healthcare, reduce disparities and strengthen the doula workforce in underserved communities.

The Xpert MTB/Ultra molecular diagnostic test may become a viable option for detecting tuberculosis (TB) in the stool of adults with HIV, according to the results of a recent study.

At the 2025 AMCP annual meeting in Houston from March 31 to April 3, John M. O'Brien, Pharm.D., MPH, president and CEO of the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC), shared concerns and potential reforms in a conversation with Managed Healthcare Executive.

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.

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.

Connie Estep, Pharm.D., BCGP, director of specialty clinical solutions at Prime Therapeutics, presented on legislative impacts on site of service at this year's AMCP meeting in Houston.

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.