It’s time for Drug Channels Institute’s annual update on the accreditation of specialty pharmacies.

Our spooky research team (pictured at right) is back! We have counted every pharmacy location that has achieved accreditation by an independent organization. Our exclusive findings:

• The number of specialty pharmacies with accreditation expanded again in 2017. We identified 729 unique pharmacy locations that by the end of 2017 had achieved accreditation from the three major independent accreditation organizations. The 2017 figure is almost double the 2015 figure.

• For the second consecutive year, pharmacy locations owned by healthcare providers—such as hospitals, health systems, physician practices, and providers’ group purchasing organizations—were the fastest-growing category of accredited specialty pharmacies.

See below for the complete details of our exclusive analysis. Notes for fellow arithmomaniacs are in the final section.

Pharmacies that compete to dispense specialty therapies are owned by a diverse set of organizations: pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), retail chains, health plans, pharmaceutical wholesalers, physician practices, and hospital systems. There are also many independent specialty pharmacies. The battle for control of the specialty market is accelerating, though PBMs continue to dominate the market as channels narrow.

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CBI’s 20th Annual Medicaid and Government Pricing Congress

May 21-23, 2018 | Orlando, FL

www.cbinet.com/medicaid

Join the Government Pricing industry for YEAR 20 of CBI’s Medicaid Congress at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club in Orlando! Take a deep dive into sessions on 340B expansion, state pricing and transparency, FSS contracting, value-based frameworks, reasonable assumptions, Medicare coverage and more. You can read all about it here.

Visit www.cbinet.com/medicaid for further details and to register. Drug Channels readers will save $300 off the standard rate when they use discount code BMK348 and register prior to April 27th.

Features for 2018 Include:

• Three Tailored Content Strategy Streams:
• 1. Strategic Pricing and Transparency
• 2. Statutory Reporting Requirements
• 3. Finance and Compliance Operations
• Six Interactive Workshops:
• 1. GTN Strategies and Solutions
• 2. Product Acquisition Due Diligence and GP Considerations
• 3. Generic Inflation Penalty Operational Guidance
• 4. Value-Based Frameworks and Government Pricing Strategies
• 5. Medicaid and GP Reporting – Build or Buy?
• 6. Supplemental Rebates – Current Events and Operational Effectiveness
• Plus, a State Medicaid Director Panel, 101 Boot Camp, Senior Executive Think Tank, Healthcare Innovation Keynote and much more!

Speakers include representatives from CMS, Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, OIG, Sidley Austin, BIO, Arnold & Porter, Deloitte, UCB, Eli Lilly, BMS, Novartis, Pfizer, Cumberland Consulting, Sunovion, J&J, Insmed, Kite Pharma, King & Spalding, KPMG and more.

Visit www.cbinet.com/medicaid for further details and to register. Drug Channels readers will save $300 off the standard rate when they use discount code BMK348 and register prior to April 27th.

CBI will see you there!

*Cannot be combined with other offers or used towards a current registration. Cannot be combined with special category rate or non-profit rates. Other restrictions may apply.

The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, or any of its employees.

        

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In three weeks, Drug Channels Institute will hit Las Vegas for Asembia’s 2018 Specialty Pharmacy Summit.

Here are three ways that you can interact with us in Las Vegas:

1) Learn how Drug Channels can help your business.

Drug Channels reaches a large, diverse audience throughout the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. We have an engaged and growing audience of more than 21,000 readers who regularly open, click, forward, and share our content.

Drug Channels has an engagement rate that is more than twice that of the average media platform.

To discover how you can reach our audience, you can speak personally with my wife and business partner, Paula Fein, M.S.Ed. Paula is Drug Channels Institute’s VP of Business Development. FYI: In the picture, she’s on the left. Email her at paula@drugchannelsinstitute.com and she’ll be happy to meet with you.

In the meantime, download the 2018 Drug Channels Media Kit for an overview of the site, our traffic, and opportunities for sponsored posts.

[Click to Download]

2) Join me at the Featured Session.

On Tuesday, May 1, I’ll lead the event’s Featured Session, titled Specialty Pharmacy Industry Outlook: What’s Happened & What’s Ahead. I’ll be joined by Doug Long from IQVIA and Lisa Gill from J.P. Morgan Securities. See you in the Encore Ballroom at 9:00 AM!

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3) Just say hello!

See you soon!

P.S. To prep for the Summit, check out Chapter 3 (“Specialty Drugs and Specialty Pharmacies”) of our new 2018 Economic Report on U.S. Pharmacies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers.

        

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Over the past few weeks, three of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers—Eli Lilly, Janssen, and Merck—have publicly reported the 2017 gross and net price changes for their U.S. product portfolios, along with average discounts. As far as I know, these are the only manufacturers that have publicly reported these data. See the links below.

As you will see, the three companies have provided average discounts from list prices of 42% to 51%. Two of the three companies experienced a year-over-year decrease in average net prices.

Payers and PBMs frequently recommend that manufacturers just lower the cost of their drugs. These data demonstrate that’s exactly what these three companies have done. Of course, the price cuts were provided in the form of rebates and discounts to the drug channel. We still don’t know how, if at all, patients benefited from the declining prices for their drugs.

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An unanticipated combination of government policy changes has led to a truly bizarre circumstance: The Medicare program and individual Medicare patients are paying more for lower-cost biosimilars. Further, hospitals are earning windfall profits from these lower-cost biosimilars, though physician offices can’t access the same financial benefits.

Sound bonkers? You bet.

To understand this strange turn of events, I delve into the vagaries of Medicare Part B reimbursement and the recently implemented outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) rule for drugs acquired under the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

As I explain below, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently made all biosimilars eligible for “pass-through payment status.” This obscure regulatory change (also explained below) altered reimbursement for some—but not all—biosimilars.

I illustrate the funky economics behind biosimilars’ newfound profitability and raise four crucial policy questions. Expect to hear more about this as politicians digest the spin from all sides of these tangled policies. However, it’s clear that CMS needs to act before this strange mix of policies disrupts the biosimilar market.

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Data Rev18 Summit

June 19-20 | Philadelphia, PA

www.worldcongress.com/events/DataCongress

This June 19 – 20 Philadelphia will become home to three case study driven events under 1 roof focused on real world data. Over 150+ data leaders will convene at the Data Rev18 Summit in Philadelphia.

Attend the only Congress aiming to break down the organizational silos in order to facilitate a seamless and free flow movement of data, throughout the life cycle from Clinical all the way through Commercial – aiding your business in truly embracing Data Driven Decision Making.

Register with discount code DC200 and save $200 off of current registration rates!

Attendees will benefit from three case-study driven events under one roof showcasing best practices for enhanced drug development and business insights through the new wave of innovation in data & analytics, real world data & real world evidence.

Three Co-located Summits include:

• 3rd Real World Data for Competitive Advantage Summit
• 2nd Real World Data for Clinical Innovation & R&D Summit
• 2nd Real World Data & Analytics Centers of Excellence Best Practices Forum

Key Agenda Highlights include:

• FDA Guidance on Real World Data Regulatory Decision Making Post Passage of 21st Century Cures Act
• KEYNOTE PANEL DISCUSSION: Optimize Business Insights and Enhance R&D Through Real World Data and Advanced Analytics
• PANEL DISCUSSION: Artificial Intelligence: Pharma’s Path to Adopting AI and Other Emerging Technologies
• CASE STUDY: CancerLinQ and FDA Collaboration on Real World Impacts of Precision Medicine Therapies
• CASE STUDY: Building a Centralized Big Data CoE to be the Bedrock for Establishing a Data Driven Company
• Utilize RWD From Real World Experts Through Acquisition to Inform Clinical Trial Design
• And many more!

Confirmed speakers include executives representing:

Novartis| Pfizer| Johnson & Johnson| Eli Lilly | AbbVie | GSK | FDA | Janssen | Astrazeneca | Trevena | Biogen | and many more!

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to experience unprecedented value, networking and education. Register with discount code DC200 and save $200 off of current registration rates!

The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, or any of its employees.

        

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It’s technically spring here at Drug Channels' worldwide headquarters in lovely downtown Philadelphia. While the last snowdrifts melt into memory, please enjoy this month’s selection of noteworthy news stories. You’ll learn:

• Why copay accumulators are making national news

• How hospitals are doubling cancer drug costs

• Fun facts about the massive shift to hospital-employed physicians

Plus, a joke (I think) about how a major health insurer makes money.

P.S. Join the nearly 5,400 people who follow me at @DrugChannels on Twitter. I share links to crucial news and reports that you should know about.

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Almost three weeks ago, the health insurer Cigna announced that it would acquire the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) Express Scripts. Click here to read my initial analysis of the deal.

Wall Street remains unimpressed. Ever since the transaction was announced, Cigna’s stock price has dropped by 16%. Meanwhile, Express Scripts’ stock is trading more than 20% below Cigna’s offer price, suggesting that many believe the deal won’t be completed.

To soothe rattled investors, Cigna last week filed an intriguing SEC Form 425. It contains 31 questions that you may or may not have been asking yourself about its acquisition of Express Scripts, along with Cigna’s answers.

Below, I highlight my five key insights from Cigna’s responses to its own questions. I support each of these five takeaways by quoting relevant material from the company’s answers to the questions it poses in the document. Riddle me this: When is it easier to interview yourself instead of dealing with skeptical investors?

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CBI’s 5th Annual e-Rx and EHR Summit

May 15-16, 2018 | Philadelphia, PA

www.cbinet.com/erx

Whether new to the eRx and EHR space or a seasoned expert, CBI’s Bio/Pharma Forum on e-Rx and EHR provides tangible takeaways and tailored sessions to ensure effective partnerships with EHR and EMR providers to maximize these critical technologies. Join CBI in May to gain tactical strategies to streamline HCP workflow drive patient education and engagement and facilitate access. Download the agenda here.

Visit www.cbinet.com/erx for further details and to register. Drug Channels readers will save $500 off the standard rate when they use discount code BJA629 and register prior to April 13th.*

Hot Topics on the Agenda Include:

• Spotlight Panel Session: Physician Perspectives on EHR systems
• Table Talks: Physician Perspectives
• Perspectives on the Use and Sustainability of HIEs
• Learn the Effects of EHR Documentation on Physician-Patient Communication
• Key Approaches to Enhance Patient Adherence
• Distinguished Speaking Faculty Includes: AstraZeneca, Allergan, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, NCPDP, Geisinger Health System, Geisinger Medical Center, and more.

Visit www.cbinet.com/erx for further details and to register. Drug Channels readers will save $500 off the standard rate when they use discount code BJA629 and register prior to April 13th.*

CBI will see you there!

*Cannot be combined with other offers or used towards a current registration. Cannot be combined with special category rate or non-profit rates. Other restrictions may apply.

The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, or any of its employees.

        

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Leveraging Technology for Specialty Patient Engagement

A free webinar hosted by Therigy

Tuesday, April 24, 1-2pm EDT

Click here to register

Therigy is pleased to announce a free webinar on the influence and leverage of technology for specialty patient engagement, Tuesday, April 24, 1-2pm EDT.

Interested in learning the most effective way to communicate with your patients? Attend this FREE Webinar: Leveraging Technology for Specialty Patient Engagement. Receive insider tips on how to leverage technology to improve overall patient engagement and satisfaction leading to higher rates of adherence and better outcomes.

Speakers will present research and insights on the topic of developing the right treatment and communication plan for patients that matches their lifestyle needs and improves their quality of life.

Featured speakers include:

• Russel Allinson, RPh, MS, Chief Executive Officer, Therigy
• David Medvedeff, PharmD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, VUCA Health
• Jon Hamrick, MBA, Chief Operating Officer, Therigy

Featured topics include:

• How do patients and caregivers prefer to communicate with their HCP (pharmacist)?
• Technology platforms leveraged in different ways to increase communication
• Most effective communication approach to encourage adherence
• Potential beneficial impact on pharmacy labor and patient adherence

Visit Therigy’s registration page for additional information and to register.

The content of Sponsored Posts does not necessarily reflect the views of Pembroke Consulting, Inc., Drug Channels, or any of its employees.

        

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