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Game-changing cholesterol-buster further reduces heart attack, stroke
A new outcomes study shows that the PCSK9 inhibitor Repatha significantly reduced the risk of hard major adverse cardiovascular events in high-risk patients by 20%.
A cholesterol-lowering PCSK9 inhibitor has shown that it significantly reduced the chance that a high-risk patient would have a heart attack or stroke by 20%, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.
Baum
Amgen announced that the evolocumab (Repatha) cardiovascular outcomes study, FOURIER, established for the first time that maximally reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels with evolocumab, beyond what is possible with the current best therapy alone, leads to a further reduction in major cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, strokes and coronary revascularizations.
“This is the first cardiovascular outcomes trial assessing a PCSK9 inhibitor. Fourier was designed to see whether or not events could be reduced with LDL-C reduction from evolocumab,” says Seth J. Baum, MD, FACC, FACPM, FAHA, FNLA, FASPC, president, American Society for Preventive Cardiology. “The answer is yes.”
FOURIER evaluated more than 27,000 individuals with a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and requiring greater LDL-C reduction on maximally tolerated statin therapy. The median baseline LDL-C was 92 mg/dL. On evolocumab, subjects decreased their LDL-C to a median of 30 mg/dL. The study met both composite primary and secondary end points. There was a statistically significant reduction in the composite of non-fatal heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular death.
“FOURIER demonstrates unequivocally that reducing the LDL-C of high-risk individuals can save people from experiencing heart attacks and strokes,” says Baum. “The lower the LDL, the better. This occurred safely and without any significant adverse events from evolocumab.
“Payers need to follow the package insert for evolocumab and start approving the medication when doctors prescribe it for their patients,” Baum says. “If payers continue to create barriers to access, they will be withholding a drug that can decrease heart attacks and strokes.”
David Calabrese of OptumRx Talks New Role, Market Insulin Prices and Other Topics 'On His Mind'
April 13th 2023In this month’s episode of the "What's On Your Mind podcast," Peter Wehrwein, managing editor of MHE connects with the now Chief Clinical Officer of OptumRx Integrated Pharmacies, David Calabrese. In this conversation, David touches on his transition in January as OptumRx’s former chief pharmacy officer and market president of health plans and PBMs to his new role as Chief Clinical Officer where he now focuses more on things such as specialty pharmacy to home delivery — with an overall goal of creating whole-patient care. Throughout the conversation, Calabrese also touched on the market’s hot topic of insulin prices and behavioral health services within the OptumRx community, among other topics.
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Upended: Can PBM Transparency Succeed?
March 6th 2024Simmering tensions in the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) industry have turned into fault lines. The PBMs challenging the "big three" have formed a trade association. Purchaser coalitions want change. The head of the industry's trade group says inherent marketplace friction has spilled over into political friction.
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Briana Contreras, editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, spoke with Nancy Lurker, CEO and president of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals. Nancy shared a bit about EyePoint and how the organization’s innovative therapies are addressing patient needs through eye care, and most importantly, she addressed C-Suite positions like the CEO role. Nancy shared advice for those seeking to reach the CEO level, especially toward women in healthcare and other roles, and what it takes to run a biopharma company.
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The deliberate disconnection of Change Healthcare to ring fence a cyberattack entered its seventh day today. Prescribers are finding ways to get pharmacy claims processed, and UnitedHealth Group says disruption to the dispensing of prescriptions has been minimal. But independent pharmacies want more information and protection from financial consequences from pharmacy benefit managers.
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