Laura is the vice president of content for The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) and all its brands, including The American Journal of Accountable Care®, Evidence-Based Oncology™, and The Center for Biosimilars®. She has been working on AJMC® since 2014 and has been with AJMC®’s parent company, MJH Life Sciences®, since 2011.
She has an MA in business and economic reporting from New York University. You can connect with Laura on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Oncology Practices Made Shifts Toward Biosimilar Use, but Payer Challenges Remain
July 5th 2023Two abstracts presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting evaluated biosimilar adoption across oncology practices and highlighted the role payers play in preventing or promoting adoption.
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Dr Robert Dellavalle Discusses the Importance of Diversity in Clinical Trials
July 2nd 2023Unless all populations are represented adequately in trials, it will be hard to know if a drug works the same in all populations as it does in one specific one, explained Robert Dellavalle, MD, PhD, MSPH, of University of Colorado School of Medicine and Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center.
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Dr Byron Lam Highlights Treatments in the Pipeline for Inherited Retinal Disease
June 26th 2023Gene therapy is only one exciting area of treatments in the pipeline to potentially treat inherited retinal disease, said Byron L. Lam, MD, professor of ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.
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SmithRx to Offer Adalimumab Biosimilar Yusimry at 90% Discount to Humira
June 14th 2023The pharmacy benefit manager SmithRx has announced that through a partnership with the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, it will offer Yusimry, an adalimumab biosimilar, for less than 90% of the cost of the reference product, Humira.
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Dr Byron Lam Reviews Current Treatments and Therapies in the Pipeline for Inherited Retinal Disease
June 11th 2023The most exciting treatment for inherited retinal disease was approved in 2017, but there are many novel treatments in phase 2 or phase 3 trials at this point, said Byron L. Lam, MD, professor of ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.
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Mandatory Switch Policies Drive Biosimilar Uptake, Reduce Costs
June 2nd 2023Abstracts presented at EULAR 2023 highlighted the impact that a mandatory switching policy had on biosimilar uptake in British Columbia, Canada, and the lack of uptake when no such policy was in place in the United States.
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Dr Byron Lam Discusses Impact on SES Factors on Glaucoma Screening Follow-up
May 29th 2023Insurance is by far the most important factor of whether patients followed up with treatment after getting screened for glaucoma, said Byron L. Lam, MD, professor of ophthalmology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.
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Addressing racial disparities in skin cancer involves education, understanding rates of risk and ethnicity, and knowledge of the different types of melanoma, which makes skin cancer disparities complex to attack, said Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, professor and chair in the Department of Dermatology and director of the Melanoma Research Program at the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Science University.
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Dr Charles Wykoff: Gene Therapy for Wet AMD Would Be a Tremendous Opportunity
May 21st 2023Gene therapies like RGX-314 are looking to treat very common diseases in ophthalmology, which would represent a tremendous opportunity for chronic disease management, said Charles C. Wykoff, MD, PhD, of Retina Consultants of Texas and the Blanton Eye Institute at Houston Methodist Hospital.
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There is a concerted effort to identify biomarkers to understand the risk of progression of diabetic eye disease, but many studies have not been performed in diverse populations, explained Jennifer K. Sun, MD, MPH, associate professor of ophthalmology and chief of the Center for Clinical Eye Research and Trials, Harvard Medical School; and chair, DRCR Retina Network.
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Margaret Rehayem Discusses How Employers Should Look at Their Humira Biosimilar Strategy
May 3rd 2023Oncology has been an easy area for employers to adopt biosimilars because of the rising costs in the space, said Margaret Rehayem, vice president, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. Now that multiple adalimumab (Humira) biosimilars are hitting the US market, employers should take a step back to review their current strategy around the drug.
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Dr Jennifer Sun Highlights Ongoing Research on Preventive Strategies for Diabetic Eye Disease
May 1st 2023The DRCR Retina Network is undertaking research to develop preventive strategies for diabetic eye disease, explained Jennifer K. Sun, MD, MPH, associate professor of ophthalmology and chief of the Center for Clinical Eye Research and Trials, Harvard Medical School; and chair, DRCR Retina Network.
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Margaret Rehayem: Rebates Remain Influential and a Barrier to Biosimilar Adoption for Employers
April 28th 2023Rebates remain very attractive for many employers, but they should push back on the reliance on rebates that may be preventing biosimilars from being added to formularies, said Margaret Rehayem, vice president, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.
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Dr Charles Wykoff Discusses Gene Therapy to Treat Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration
April 23rd 2023Gene therapy has the promise of being one and done, but it isn’t always that way for all patients, which leaves questions about where these therapies fit in the commercial landscape, said Charles C. Wykoff, MD, PhD, of Retina Consultants of Texas and the Blanton Eye Institute at Houston Methodist Hospital.
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There Remains a Need to Educate Employers, Employees on Biosimilars: Margaret Rehayem
April 20th 2023While employers fall on a spectrum when it comes to knowledge and understanding of biosimilars, there does remain a need to educate them, as well as for them to educate their employees, said Margaret Rehayem, vice president, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.
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Providers Need to Be Educated About How Conditions May Vary in Skin of Color, Says Dr Andrew Alexis
April 18th 2023Lack of knowledge about how skin conditions present on lightly pigmented skin has resulted in diagnostic delays, underassessment, and an impact on quality of life for patients with skin of color.
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Dr Darius Moshfeghi Outlines the Impact of Delayed Treatment in ROP
April 17th 2023Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) that occurs in preterm babies can progress fast, which requires quick decisions early about treatment, explained Darius M. Moshfeghi, MD, chief, Retina Division, and professor at the Horngren Family Vitreoretinal Center, Byers Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine.
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Dr Sancy Leachman Discusses Tailoring Genetic Testing for Melanoma to the Patient
April 16th 2023Each patient needs to weigh the benefits and risks of genetic testing for melanoma and have someone who can take the time to explain everything, including insurance risks, said Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, professor and chair in the Department of Dermatology and director of the Melanoma Research Program at the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Science University.
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Margaret Rehayem Highlights Strategies From the Employer Playbook on Biosimilars
April 13th 2023The Employer Playbook on Biosimilars highlights strategies employers can use to navigate challenges around ensuring employee access to biosimilars at the pharmacy, as well as how to respond to pharmacy benefit managers who aren’t making biosimilars available on the formulary, said Margaret Rehayem, vice president, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.
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Dr Eva Parker Outlines Why Climate Change Has a Greater Health Impact on Marginalized Communities
April 12th 2023Not only are Black and Brown communities, as well as neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status, disproportionately impacted by climate change, but these communities are not as readily able to adapt to mitigate the impacts climate change has on health.
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Dr John Harris Discusses New Information Learned in Extension Studies for Ruxolitinib Cream
April 11th 2023Each trial extension has added new and more data and a better understanding of how ruxolitinib cream treats vitiligo in the long term, explained John Harris, MD, PhD, FAAD, director of the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center at UMass Chan Medical School.
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