FDA commissioner moves to Medicare as drug import battle escalates

Duvyzat was approved in March 2024 and works to reduce the inflammation and loss of muscle experienced by patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

In this week's episode of Tuning Into The C-Suite podcast, MHE's Briana Contreras chatted with David Calabrese, R.Ph, MHP, who is senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer of pharmacy care services company, OptumRx. David is also a member of Managed Healthcare Executives’ Editorial Advisory Board. During the discussion, he shared the OptumRx Quarter 2 Drug Pipeline Insights Report of 2020. Some of the information shared includes the three notable drugs currently being reviewed or those that have been recently approved by the FDA. Also discussed were any interesting industry trends to watch for.

Boehringer Ingelheim’s high- and low-concentration adalimumab-adbm will be available through GoodRx for $550 for two-pack, which represents a 92% discount from the Humira list price.

If approved, tabelecleucel would be the first therapy specifically to treat Epstein-Barr virus related post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease. The FDA’s action date is Jan. 15, 2025.

OX124 is a nasal spray provides rapid absorption of naloxone for patients experiencing an opioid overdose. The FDA would like to see additional technical data, as well as data on whether patients can correctly use the device.

The switch to biosimilars helped Navitus clients offset increased utilization in the non-specialty category and the introduction of higher-cost specialty drugs.