Today’s guest post comes from David Holladay, President of CoverMyMeds and Austin Raper, Healthcare Writer at CoverMyMeds.

First, David discusses how CoverMyMeds supports medication access. Then, Austin highlights key findings from CoverMyMeds’ 2020 Medication Access Report. This new report includes industry research, patient interviews, novel survey data, and strategies for boosting patients’ medication access.

Read on for David’s and Austin’s insights.
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First, let me say thank you to all of the healthcare workers who are putting themselves at risk during this crisis.

As I noted last week, many of the crucial issues for our healthcare system will remain after we all get through this challenging period. In that regard, here’s a look at some noteworthy news from the past month:

• Sanofi discloses new data about insulin prices

• Excellent new academic research on list vs. net drug prices

• Three notable researchers overturn their earlier research on drug costs

• Amazon switches PBM vendors for some of its employees

Plus, we unveil the teaser trailer for Drug Channels Video!

P.S. Join the more than 9,000 followers of my daily links to neat stuff at @DrugChannels on Twitter. My recent tweets have highlighted such topics as:

• How GoodRx shares patients’ prescription data
• 2019 drug trend at Prime Therapeutics
• Controversy about the independent pharmacy market
• A new $5 generic mail order program, Medicare Part D reform
• Retail pharmacy’s future
• Job openings at Amazon 
• Frozen cookie dough
• And much more!

I have also been tweeting many under-the-radar stories about how the coronavirus affects drug channels.
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ICYMI, the boffins at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released their new projections for U.S. National Health Expenditures (NHE). Unfortunately, the coronavirus almost immediately made these predictions obsolete.

It’s still useful to analyze these forecasts for a pre-pandemic examination of U.S. healthcare spending. A few highlights of the 2024 outlook:

• Total U.S. spending on healthcare was projected to grow, from $3.6 trillion in 2018 to $5.0 trillion in 2024.

• Spending on hospitals and professional services was expected to grow by a combined $800 billion—more than 60% of CMS’s projected $1.4 trillion increase in U.S. healthcare spending. That’s consistent with historical trends.

• Net spending on outpatient prescription drugs in 2024 was projected to shrink to less than 9% of total U.S. spending. That would be its lowest level since 2000.

As usual, the actual facts run counter to the popular narrative that drug spending is skyrocketing relative to any other aspect of U.S. healthcare. Of course, the coronavirus will alter these projections. Below, I speculate how COVID-19 and its aftermath will affect healthcare and prescription drug spending.

Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future. Feel free to add your own outlook in the comment section below.
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In 2006, I launched the Drug Channels website to explore the economics of the U.S. reimbursement and distribution system for prescription pharmaceuticals. More than 30,000 professionals in the pharmaceutical and related industries rely on Drug Channels for timely analysis and provocative, fact-based insights.

Today, I am pleased to announce the launch of our new delivery platform: Drug Channels Video!

You can look forward to:

• Information and analysis via our new YouTube channel (Never fear. I’ll still be publishing articles on the website every week.)

• Livestream video webinars (Stay tuned next week for an announcement about our first two events.)

• Private, live virtual keynotes and remote presentations (Email me to schedule a safe social distancing event for your team.)

• Online video courses (Coming later in 2020)

Please watch my brief video introduction below. (Click here if you can’t see the video.)


I hope you and your families stay safe and healthy in these challenging times. I look forward to reconnecting with you in person soon.

Today’s guest post comes from Miranda Gill, Senior Director of Provider Network at CoverMyMeds.

Miranda reviews how the pandemic affects the ability of healthcare workers to complete administrative responsibilities like prior authorization. She then outlines how electronic automation is helping patients get needed medications while face-to-face interactions are restricted.

Learn more about healthcare IT solutions for providers and patients in CoverMyMeds’ 2020 Medication Access Report, or schedule a virtual meeting.
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Rumor has it that Spring has finally reached our worldwide headquarters here in beautiful downtown Philadelphia. (See photo at right.) While we wait to go outside, please enjoy this month’s selection of noteworthy news:

• The outlook for drug prices

• A outstanding (and free!) resource for tracking COVID-19 daily data

• What’s up with community oncology practices?

Plus, I share my favorite chart of 2020 (so far).

P.S. Join the more than 9,200 followers of my curated links to neat stuff at @DrugChannels on Twitter. My recent tweets have highlighted: Prime Therapeutics new gene therapy offering, AmerisourceBergen’s laudable deal with the Justice Department, the Costco/Instacart deal, Rite Aid’s new CEO, clinical trial trends, vaccine pricing, and much more! I have also been tweeting under-the-radar stories about how the coronavirus is affecting drug channels.

Tomorrow (May 1), Drug Channels Institute will host the first of two live video webinars: Industry Update and COVID-19 Impact: Retail & Specialty Pharmacies. We'll host the second video webinar—Industry Update and COVID-19 Impact: PBMs & Payers—on May 8. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP. Contact Paula Fein (paula@drugchannelsinstitute.com) for our special promo codes for multiple viewing sites. DCI will donate 20% of all profits from these events to The Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s COVID-19 Response Fund.

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Today’s guest post comes from Trygve Anderson, Vice President of Commercial Pharmacy at Elsevier.

Trygve discusses trends and challenges to watch in 2020, including drug pricing transparency, the approval and interchangeability of biosimilars, and stakeholder access to timely and accurate data.

Learn more about Elsevier’s information analytics capabilities from its video: Evaluating Drug Data Yields Business Value.

Read on for Trygve’s insights.
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This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while I prepare for this Friday’s video webinar: Industry Update and COVID-19 Impact: PBMs & Payers.

I suspect this deal will remain profitable for the participating companies even as COVID-19 alters the US. prescription payer mix. Click here to see the original post and comments from January 2020. National market shares for the largest PBMs in 2019 appears as Exhibit 88 of our 2020 Economic Report on U.S. Pharmacies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers.

P.S. Sorry that today's meme is one day too late for Star Wars day.

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Just before the holidays, Cigna’s Express Scripts business announced a market-changing deal with Prime Therapeutics. Click here to read the press release.

There's been very little written about this transaction, though it has potentially major implications. Below, I share my thoughts on the following topics arising from the deal:

• Implications for manufacturers and pharmacies

• The role of the secretive Ascent Health Services

• What this all means for Walgreens

• Why the Federal Trade Commission won’t challenge the deal

A few weeks ago, I explained why integrated insurer / PBM / specialty pharmacy / provider organizations are poised to restructure U.S. drug channels. The Express Scripts / Prime deal signals that the channel will continue its amazing pace of reinvention.

The scale, scope, and interconnectedness of today’s market participants make the system increasingly resistant to massive disruption from either external players like Amazon or a government takeover. Like it or not, the channel will continue to gain power and extract profit. Read on and see if you agree.
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Originally published in January 1859

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Its sting is excruciating to people, but it is a bigger threat to honeybees vital for agriculture

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That emotion is natural in a situation like this, but there are ways to mitigate it

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To build trust with traditionally underserved groups, health officials need to craft their messaging in a much more culturally sensitive way

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The pandemic is amplifying nearly every disadvantage that women in STEM already face. But institutions and the scientific community can help

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They don’t stand on one leg around just anybody but often prefer certain members of the flock.

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The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) highlights contributions to health and economy (Leeds, UK) – Facing unprecedented challenges associated with Brexit,...

What happens to clinical research when the UK leaves the EU’s common market and regulatory structure? When public perceptions seem locked onto...

The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) convenes discussion series that seeks to advance an industry with important health and economic impacts...

Following meetings with then-Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and senior leadership from the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research on the role of CROs and technology companies in designing and implementing risk-based monitoring (RBM) of clinical trials, ACRO this week submitted extensive comments on recent FDA Guidance.Increasing the use of innovative RBM technologies helps make clinical trials safer, more efficient and higher quality. ACRO’s comments offer unique insights into the recent expansion of RBM implementation and call for further increasing the use of these oversight technologies.

On July 17, 2019, under cooperative agreement with the FDA, the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy (Duke Margolis) held a public workshop. The event, titled Improving the Implementation of Risk-Based Monitoring Approaches of Clinical Investigations, aimed to identify opportunities to improve Risk Based Monitoring (RBM) implementation and solicit stakeholder input on the challenges, barriers, and enablers that impact the successful adoption of RBM.

On Wednesday, October 23, 2019, ACRO hosted a Congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill. With the help of the Congressional Research & Development...

Investigation of combination therapies including Bayer’s chloroquine and interferon beta-1b to foster much needed solutions for patients in fight against coronavirus pandemic / Bayer Canada to make CAD 1.5 million (approximately 1 million euros) financial commitment and to supply products in support of the research / Plans to include more than 60 contributing research locations involving 6.000 patients

Pharmacists will be allowed to give out medication to patients who have already been receiving it

Pharmacists are to be allowed to hand out a range of super-strength medicines, including the heroin substitute methadone, without prescription during the Covid-19 crisis, under emergency measures that official drug policy advisers have warned could trigger a spike in drug misuse.

The Advisory Council for Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which makes recommendations to the government on the control of dangerous drugs, was asked by the home secretary to consider the risks of lifting restrictions on certain substances controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

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Patients were used as guinea pigs but denied access to resulting therapies. This time, Big Pharma must be held to account

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The year I turned 11, my uncle Josiah Ssesanga was admitted to a hospital in Uganda with meningitis. It was 1994, and he was HIV positive. Between him and death stood a tattered post-civil war health system.

Treatments for HIV and Aids existed in other parts of the world, but in Uganda they were mostly limited to those used in clinical trials. For my uncle’s particular infection – cryptococcal meningitis – there was a drug called Fluconazole. But he didn’t know it existed; regardless, he wouldn’t have been able to afford it. and even among patients who took it, only 12% survived beyond six months.

Related: Macron calls for clinical trials of controversial coronavirus 'cure'

Related: Fear, bigotry and misinformation – this reminds me of the 1980s Aids pandemic | Edmund White

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Preliminary results of US government trial show patients who received drug recovered faster than others

Hopes of an effective drug treatment for coronavirus patients have risen following positive early results from a trial of remdesivir, a drug first tried in Ebola patients.

Data from the trial on more than 1,000 severely ill patients in 75 hospitals around the world show that patients put on the drug recovered 31% faster than similar patients who were given a placebo drug instead. Remdesivir cut recovery time from a median of 15 days to 11.

Related: World's stock markets soar on coronavirus treatment hopes

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Trial of remdesivir shows fewer deaths and shorter hospital stays

• Coronavirus – latest updates
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The first drug against Covid-19 to show promise in trials, reducing the time seriously ill people take to recover in hospital, is unlikely to be available widely in the UK soon, it has emerged.

Forty-six people in the UK have received remdesivir as part of the European arm of an international trial. Researchers would like to have given the drug to more patients but did not have the supplies.

Related: Coronavirus: what do scientists know about Covid-19 so far?

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Gilead’s remdesivir, which has been hailed as one of the few truly promising treatments for COVID-19 at this early stage of the ongoing pandemic, has failed in its first randomised clinical trial, leaked data has revealed.

The FDA has released a safety communication reiterating the need for doctors to closely monitor COVID-19 patients who are treated with either hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine.

English excess deaths from the coronavirus are comparable to the worst hit countries in Europe, according to a Sky News analysis.

Researchers in America have been studying famotidine, the active ingredient in Pepcid, as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

Sanofi’s MedQuadfi Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine has scored FDA approval for the prevention of invasive meningococcal disease, becoming the first and only product available in the US for this indication in patients of at least two years old.

There is a duty to ensure access to innovative treatments for patients with unmet need, but a health service gatekeeper must commit to efficient use of limited resources. Matt Fellows looks at how real-world evidence could be the key to reassessing how we determine the value of these drugs and ensure their swift availability.

The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety have approved a local trial to evaluate nafamostat’s effectiveness in COVID-19 patients.

Almost half of Americans believe that the coronavirus was created in a lab, according to an April survey of 6,300 people.

A Phase 3 study of Sanofi and Regeneron’s Libtayo (cemiplimab) as a monotherapy for advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been stopped early after showing strong overall survival benefit, it has emerged.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) wrote a letter to Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey urging the wider use of hydroxychloroquine, based on data they have collected.

Research into coronavirus cases in Shenzhen, China found that men were 2.5 times as likely to exhibit severe symptoms.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that there is evidence the COVID-19 coronavirus was created in a lab, despite US intelligence officials stating it probably occurred naturally.

British scientists are testing an experimental drug to help some of society’s most vulnerable fight off the COVID-19 coronavirus.

"Every professional faces challenges. As a woman in industry, particularly in leadership, it adds another dimension to those challenges in how you present yourself."

The NHS’s coronavirus contract tracing app has been published to Apple and Google’s app stores with council staff and healthcare workers being invited to download it on the Isle of Wight today.

A new online reporting site has been launched by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) to track potential side-effects arising from the use of any therapies used to treat COVID-19, in a bid to build a knowledge base around safe treatment of the pandemic disease.

Ousted Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Dr Rick Bright, alleges the Trump administration ignored warnings about the severity of the coronavirus.

The FDA has awarded marketing authorisation to Novartis for the Oral MET inhibitor Tabrecta for the first-line treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in patients whose tumors have a mutation that leads to MET exon 14 skipping (METex14), regardless of whether they have previously received any type of treatment.

A recent report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has shown that black people in Britain are four times more likely to die from the COVID-19 coronavirus than white Britons.

Aims to track the progress of the infection across the UK

New crop of data suggests drug can speed recovery from COVID-19