AMCP 2023 to Feature Policy, Pharmaceutical Trends, Patient-Centered Outcomes

Kicking off the afternoon of March 21 and concluding March 24, AMCP 2023, from the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, will take place in San Antonio, Texas.

There will be 6 educational tracks to choose from: Biosimilars; Drugs, Diseases, and the Managed Care Impact; Legislative and Regulatory Trends; Focus on Managed Care Pharmacy; Managed Care Research in Action; and Making the Way for Innovation.

Preconference activity will see a 90-minute panel discussion exploring incorporating value-based frameworks in the managed care arena and how these can be used to help facilitate coverage decisions on various pharmaceuticals and health technologies. It will be led by Kimberly Westrich, MA, director of value and access strategy at AmerisourceBergen. Additional topics to be covered include the importance of certain data points—chief among them, comparative clinical effectiveness and outcomes data—and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“It really has a full range of information. We’re going to be getting into a little bit of research, a little bit of real-world application, and even some policy prognostication,” Westrich said. “In the research perspective, we collaborated with the National Pharmaceutical Council to explore how payers are using value assessment information in their decision-making, and then we’ll have some information on how payers are using this in the real world.”

Day 1 is packed with sessions that cover how to navigate the regulatory landscape of biosimilar use and examine the impact of interchangeability status, both with potential to affect patient care; how prior authorization ties into clinical trial participation and data for these decisions can inform patient-focused care approaches; addressing health disparities; and improving patient outcomes in several disease states, including β-thalassemia, HIV, and cancer. The morning will also see a welcome breakfast for first-time meeting attendees and new AMCP members.

On day 2, the morning will feature engaging discussions on pharmaceutical marketplace trends, the drug pipeline, and legislative and regulatory updates, and the afternoon will encompass sessions on biosimilars, a spotlight on advances on hemophilia treatment, and aligning payers and manufacturers to succeed under value-based contracts. Late-afternoon sessions cover alternative payment models and racial health disparities in medication adherence.

The final day of AMCP 2023 will be a short one, concluding around lunch time. But before then, the morning will encompass satellite symposia on patient outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia and opioid analgesic therapy for chronic pain, as well as an in-depth education session on the Inflation Reduction Act.

This year's Science and Innovation Theaters will feature presentations on Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder; zuranolone, which is being investigated for use in major depressive disorder and postpartum depression (and so far is not approved by the FDA); and the use of molecular diagnostics in oncology.

In addition to the overall 34 education sessions, 14 satellite symposia, and expo with 75-plus exhibitors, there will be 3 notable keynotes:

• Robin Roberts, co-anchor on “Good Morning America,” who is a survivor of both breast cancer and myelodysplastic syndrome, for which she underwent a bone marrow transplant when her sister was found to be a perfect match, speaks on Wednesday, March 22.
• Douglas M. Long, MBA, vice president of industry relations at IQVIA, and Susan A. Cantrell, RPh, CAE, will lead “2022-2023 Health Care and Pharmaceutical Marketplace Trends,” on Thursday, March 23.
• Leslie Fish RPh, PharmD, vice president of pharmacy at IPD Analytics, and Jeffrey Casberg, MS, RPh, will speak during “Specialty Pharmaceutical Pipeline 2023,” on Friday, March 24, which Christina Barrington, PharmD, will moderate.