Low-hanging fruit need not apply

Specialty drugs are expected to comprise 80% of the FDA approvals this year. Among them are gene therapies for hemophilia A and Duchenne muscular dystrophy priced at between $2 million and $3 million.

The senior vice president of health services and chief medical officer at Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia discusses the spotlight that the COVID-19 pandemic put on behavioral health and Independence's integration of behavioral health into its coverage and care management in this month's episode of “What's on Your Mind?" podcast.

The discovery of a protein that determines levels of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF) could lead to new therapies for macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other common causes of vision loss.

Briana Contreras, an editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, chats with Bronwyn Spira, CEO and founder of Force Therapeutics, in this week's episode about CMS' new CPT codes that were introduced in 2022.

They are the trendy way to lose weight and payers have been noticing an increase in GLP-1 claims. An analysis of the pharmacy and healthcare claims of a small commercial health plan in Texas documents the growth in the off-label usage of the GLP-1s, such as Ozempic, for weight loss.

The IQVIA vice president sees trouble for generics manufacturers, but painted a bright picture for biosimilars during his keynote address at the annual meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP).