Angela Maas

Dec 5, 2024 | mmitnetwork.com | Angela Maas

Although the FDA has approved five biosimilars of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s best-selling Eylea (aflibercept), patent infringement lawsuits by the drugmaker have kept those competitors off the U.S. market — until now. Following a successful defense of its Pavblu (aflibercept-ayyh), Amgen Inc. recently launched the drug at risk. The agent is entering an increasingly crowded therapeutic class, but it’s one that’s also costly for payers, which may be seeking some savings, say industry experts.

Dec 5, 2024 | mmitnetwork.com | Angela Maas

As manufacturers continue to bring more advanced therapies onto the U.S. market, payers are grappling with how to afford these agents. And while the products may be life-changing for some patients, they may not have the desired outcome in others, leaving payers on the hook for an unsuccessful treatment. This has resulted in various contracting opportunities, including warranties.

Nov 21, 2024 | mmitnetwork.com | Angela Maas

The second administration of Donald Trump may well run the gamut as far as its impact on health care and pharma. Biotech companies may benefit from a good business environment, prompting more mergers and acquisitions, but they may also experience challenges in working with what could be somewhat unconventional leaders of federal agencies, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom President-elect Trump tapped on Nov. 14 to run HHS.

Nov 21, 2024 | mmitnetwork.com | Angela Maas

A recently approved treatment for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) brings a new mechanism of action to the therapeutic class. And while payers and rheumatologists varied in their expectations of what the drug’s impact on coverage of and prescribing for the class will be, almost half said they expect it to have at least some effect, according to a survey by Zitter Insights. On Sept.

Nov 7, 2024 | mmitnetwork.com | Angela Maas

While changes to the Medicare Part D benefit resulting from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are already underway, Part D plans and manufacturers still face a good deal of uncertainty as to how the Medicare landscape is going to shake out. Changes to Medicare Part D plans in 2025 will almost certainly impact a large swath of beneficiaries, as well as manufacturers’ contracting strategies for 2026, said industry experts at a recent webinar hosted by Avalere.