RxAdvocate April, 2022 — Newsletter

RxAdvocate April, 2022 — Newsletter

April Stories:

  • Cervical Cancer Immunotherapy
  • House Passes Bill Capping Insulin Prices
  • FDA Approvals
  • RxConnection Organizational Announcements

Cervical Cancer Immunotherapy

Cervical cancer affects over half a million people every year and is the fourth most common cancer in the world for women. The annual medical cost of cervical cancer care is estimate to be $1.6 billion. In 2021 the DFA approved two new immunotherapy treatments for cervical cancer: tisotumab bedotin (Tivda) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda). Keytruda has been approved as first line therapy for a specific subset of patients while Tivdak received FDA approval as a second-line therapy. These approvals broaden therapy options for a diagnosis that has not had treatment updates since 2014. Keytruda is forecasted to demonstrate a neutral effect on budget. Click here to read more 

House Passes Bill Capping Insulin Prices

Late last month, the House of Representatives approved legislation limiting cost-sharing for insulin under private health insurance and Medicare. The Affordable Insulin Now Act caps insulin prices at either $25 a month or 25% of the insurance plan’s negotiated price – whichever is lower. This would take effect in 2023 – depending on the Senate’s decision.
Source 1           Source 2

FDA Approvals

The USFDA has approved the following medications:
OTC Nasonex – used to treat seasonal allergies
Ztalmy – used to treat seizures associated with cyclindependent deficiency disorder
Opdualag – used to treat melanoma

RxConnection Organizational Announcements

Welcome, Kristy!
Kristy Torres joins our team as a Strategic Account Executive. She has over 20 years of experience in the PBM space, wearing many hats during her tenure. Kristy has worked in Customer Service Management, Implementations, Account Management, and Client Services. She has been in PBM Account Management for over 15 years, most recently at Southern Scripts as an Account Executive and prior to that, she was a Senior Account Executive with MaxorPlus.

Welcome, Joey!

Joey Nuez has over 6 years of experience as a retail pharmacy technician and over 22 years of experience in pharmacy benefit management. As an Account Manager for a PBM she managed large strategic accounts with complex custom benefits. During her tenure within PBM she also held roles in several operational departments including Prescription Drug List Operations and Benefit Operations where she was dedicated to building pricing for the Employer and Individual segment of the business.

Welcome, Amber!

Amber Jamison brings over 10 years of pharmacy experience across multiple disciplines - CVS Health as a pharmacy manager where her efforts led to being named the Paragon Award Winner and selection into Emerging Leaders Program for district management development. Amber expanded her skillset by completing a Master's Degree at the University of Florida in Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy and became Board Certified in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy. Her most recent experience was her role as a Utilization Management Pharmacist with Humana.

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If you would like additional information on our services please contact:
Orlando Neal — Principal
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