Laura Joszt, MA

Geographic atrophy is a leading cause of blindness. The new approval will help to fill an unmet need for patients.

When the first adalimumab (Humira) biosimilar launched at the end of January, it was just the beginnings of a wave of coming biosimilars for anti-inflammatory biologics.

While the current therapies are effective for treating branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) and central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), they are inadequate for long-term treatment in clinical practice, according to an analysis of real-world data.

Two studies looking at a higher dose of aflibercept found that an 8-mg dose can be maintained at longer dosing intervals with similar benefits and no additional safety signals compared with the 2-mg dose.

Much of the evidence that has been used to base current standard of care for diabetic eye diseases stems from studies performed by the DRCR Retina Network over the years.

The BUTTERFLEYE trial sought to determine if aflibercept, an anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy, was equivalent to laser photocoagulation, the gold standard to treat retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in preterm babies.

Patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who are responsive to anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy experienced visual gains with no additional injections in the 6 months after treatment with the gene therapy.

Home optical coherence tomography (OCT) has shown there is a wide degree of heterogeneity in fluid dynamics and treatment response that may not be clear during regular office visits and scans. Presenters reviewed the latest data in home OCT to manage wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

A review of data on 2 mitochondrial membrane stabilizers—risuteganib and elamipretide—has highlighted the potential to not just slow disease progression but actually reverse vision loss in patients with intermediate dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

For patients with geographic atrophy (GA) taking pegcetacoplan, the drug’s effect to slow disease progression increases over time as patients take the drug, said Eleonora Lad, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology, Duke University.

The Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration 2023 meeting will be held virtually with a program focused on understanding and treating neovascular, exudative, and degenerative diseases of the eye.

With no treatment options currently available for geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), pegcetacoplan could fill a huge unmet need, explained Eleonora Lad, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology, Duke University.

Coverage from the 64th Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting and Exposition, December 10-13, 2022, New Orleans, Louisiana.

The first of at least 8 adalimumab biosimilars has finally launched in the United States after being kept off the market for years due to settlement agreements with the maker of the reference product, Humira.

Multiple adalimumab biosimilars will hit the US market in 2023, but the drug is still projected to have the largest price increase for the calendar year starting July 1.

Timothy Murphy, MD, FACP, practice president of Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, spoke with The American Journal of Managed Care® about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on screening for lung cancer.

Big data has valuable implications for analyzing datasets and in day-to-day clinical practice, explained Ken Cohen, MD, director of translational research for Optum Care.

Compared with sorafenib, a combination of sintilimab and a bevacizumab biosimilar improved responses in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Patient quality of life can be improved through shared knowledge between doctors and patients in cancer care using the Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG) Chemotherapy Toxicity Tool calculator, which Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers piloted, explained Alonso V. Pacheco, MD, medical director and medical oncologist/hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

Timothy Murphy, MD, FACP, current practice president at Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, spoke with The American Journal of Managed Care® about the current state of lung cancer screenings.

Ken Cohen, MD, director of translational research for Optum Care, talks about the value of prior authorizations in different contexts, and how simplicity can benefit the process in some situations.

New immunotherapies are changing the shape of oncology care, but there is also a need for a system that provides these high-quality therapies to the patients most likely to benefit from them. This might mean doing an assessment and a deeper dive into patient functional status, says Alonso V. Pacheco, MD, medical director and medical oncologist/hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

Two ranibizumab biosimilars launched in the United States in 2022, but a new report shows comfort and familiarity with biosimilars has gone down compared with a year ago.

Initiatives to address social determinants of health are likely to positively change the health care landscape, and better patient education can contribute to more favorable care choices says Ken Cohen, MD, director of translational research for Optum Care.

A tool to measure chemotherapy toxicity from the Cancer and Aging Research Group can help determine emergency department visits or hospitalization risk, especially for elderly patients, says Alonso V. Pacheco, MD, medical director and medical oncologist/hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

Creating new incentive models and transparently sharing data in a way that changes behaviors are 2 ways to reduce low-value care in the health care system, explains Ken Cohen, MD, director of translational research for Optum Care.

Research presented at the 64th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition examined how certain patient and demographic characteristics that may be related to socioeconomic disparities impact the risk of hematological cancers; the influence of diabetes on chronic myeloid leukemia; and 2 updates on ponatinib.

Ken Cohen, MD, director of translational research for Optum Care, speaks on the future of more biosimilars hitting the market, and how they will influence value-based care.

The FDA’s approval of lecanemab for Alzheimer disease is very important, but there will remain significant challenges around pricing and access that will need to be addressed to deliver on the promise the therapy actually represents, said Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School.

The lecanemab decision follows the controversial 2021 approval of aducanumab, which led to tight coverage restrictions for monoclonal antibodies directed against amyloid for the treatment of Alzheimer disease.