Laura Joszt, MA

A new program from Optum Rx would offer greater predictability by using a guarantee-based pricing model.

The FDA has approved tarlatamab (Imdelltra; Amgen), a novel bispecific T-cell engager, to treat patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Speakers at the 2024 American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting highlighted the innovations and advancements that are pushing the field of urology forward.

New therapies being developed are moving into earlier lines of therapy, with the idea that most patients with early-stage prostate cancer will progress and need additional therapy later.

Risk factors and prostate-specific antigen are both important when determining how to move forward with treatment, explained Angela Jia, MD, PhD, of University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

There are increasingly more bladder-sparing strategies for patients with even aggressive bladder cancer, said Alexander Kutikov, MD, FACS, chair, Department of Urology, Fox Chase Cancer Center.

The Medicare trust fund is now expected to deplete in 2036, with the Inflation Reduction Act being credited for at least some of the extension.

With more therapies available in bladder, kidney, and prostate cancers, collaboration among health care providers can help ensure patients are getting the most appropriate care for their type and stage of cancer, said Mary Dunn, MSN, NP-C, OCN, RN, of University of North Carolina.

In 2024, the Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit celebrated 20 years and speakers highlighted the conversations around improving access and affordability taking place at the meeting.

There are many options to try for patients if one therapy doesn’t work, but there are challenges around getting new treatments into the clinic, said Joshua Meeks, MD, PhD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Patients with small or slow-growing tumors or those with comorbidities that make them higher risk are likely better candidates for active surveillance, explained Yuzhi Wang, MD, of Henry Ford Health Vattikuti Urology Institute.

Evolving treatment for bladder cancer is going to require a multidisciplinary team to ensure patients are receiving optimal care, said Neal D. Shore, MD, FACS, medical director of the Carolina Urologic Research Center.

While the novel payment models for expensive cell and gene therapies have been effective, they need to continue evolving, said Joe DePinto, MBA, of McKesson.

The health-system specialty pharmacy has the unique ability to coordinate better with the provider and take a team approach that reduces the chances of dropping the ball on the patient’s care.

The annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) not only presents the newest therapies coming out but showcases the latest in how treatments are being used in the real world, said Stephen Freedland, MD, of Cedars Sinai.

There are multiple levers that need to be pulled to allow biosimilars to come to market more broadly in the US, explained Fran Gregory, PharmD, MBA, vice president of emerging therapies, Cardinal Health.

When the same product comes to market with additional indications, irrational pricing decisions result in ever-increasing prices instead of volume translating to lower costs, said Jon Mahrt, MBA, of OptumRX.

The real-time monitoring of patients through medically integrated dispensing (MID) programs can reduce costs of care and remove barriers, said Christie Smith, PharmD, MBA, vice president, pharmacy and payer strategy, Cencora.

Payer coverage of biosimilars is always shifting as new ones come to market, explained Tasmina Hydery, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, associate director in digital solutions, Cencora.

A new court ruling has the future use of skinny labels in question, but skinny-label generics have saved Medicare a lot of money over 5 years.

During their session at Asembia’s AXS24, Sarah Butler and Lindsay Greenleaf of ADVI Health will examine the current status of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and future considerations in health care in the context of the upcoming presidential election.

While the Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System and bone marrow blasts may predict overall survival, the lack of certain mutations is also associated with a better prognosis for myeloproliferative neoplasm, unclassifiable (MPN-U).

Traditionally, low-risk patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are not given medication, but new data challenge that thinking, said Raajit Rampal, MD, PhD, hematologic oncologist, associate attending physician, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Screening for cognitive impairment among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can be challenging; however, some shorter assessments have shown promise for use in the clinical setting.

Experts explain how new diabetes technologies like continuous glucose monitors are transforming care beyond intensive insulin therapy, offering personalized insights and improving outcomes for patients of all treatment levels.

A single injection of a gene therapy was well tolerated and showed the potential to control exudation in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).

The introduction of momelotinib to treat myelofibrosis with anemia can result in small savings due to reduced transfusion-related costs, according to a budget impact model.

Raajit Rampal, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the potential of a disease-modifying therapy in polycythemia vera, treating high-risk vs low-risk patients, and emerging therapies in the pipeline.

Differing characteristics of the patient and their disease may mean certain providers—academic oncologists, community oncologists, and primary care physicians—may be best suited for follow-up care.

FDA granted accelerated approval to trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive solid tumors who received prior systemic treatment and have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.