FDA has banner year with 39 new drug approvals

Epysqli is a monoclonal antibody that is approved to treat two rare conditions that break down red blood cells.

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.

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.

Giant cell arteritis is an inflammatory disease that affects the large blood vessels that supply blood to the head and brain.