PHARMA TECH
Karmanos Cancer Institute | October 05, 2021
The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and KSP Specialty Pharmacy (KSP) are pleased to announce the launch of new services and a new website: www.ksppharmacy.org. The new site features provider resources and information for payers and pharmaceutical companies. Most notably, the site includes an online portal where patients can refill their prescriptions. This tool also allows patients to see their list of medications, get reminders and interact with their pharmacist. A portal for patient education and tips is forthcoming. Additionally, KSP has begun offering non-oncology specialty drugs to serve providers and patients throughout the McLaren Health Care network.
KSP is a specialty pharmacy within the McLaren Health Care Network, serving the needs of patients with complex disease states and high-cost therapeutic treatments. KSP began as an extension of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in 2019 and has since grown to assist with specialty medication needs of patients throughout the McLaren system in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
Additionally, the Karmanos ambulatory pharmacy, which provides non-specialty medication, has launched a portal with similar functionality. Those undergoing cancer treatment at Karmanos can now access their prescription information and request refills on the Karmanos pharmacy web page.
We are continually striving to provide our patients with tools and convenience to help them understand their treatment. The new website and app will provide the outstanding service we offer over the phone and in person on a new, convenient platform,
- Stephen Smith, RPh, MS, FASHP, Chief Pharmacy Officer.
KSP provides patient care and customer service through a panel of expert clinical pharmacy specialists that can assist in drug education and management of not only a patient's specialty prescriptions, but their entire prescription portfolio. The pharmacy team has direct access to the patient's medical records and providers to ensure the time to delivery of the first dose is swift. In fact, the average rate to the first dose at KSP during fiscal year 2021 is 3.92 days, while the industry standard is more than ten days. A primary goal is to ensure that our in-house social worker and account resolution team find unique programs to allow patients access to high-cost medications without being financially burdened. This allows patients to stay adherent and compliant with their prescribed therapies and start a path to faster healing and recovery.
Specialty medications are used to treat complex health conditions that include hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, organ transplant, migraines and others. KSP Specialty Pharmacy's expanded services include the ability to dispense medications for patients within the McLaren Health System who face these disease states. These medications may need to be administered by a health care professional, self-injected or taken by mouth, which may require clinical monitoring. Specialty medications often require special handling, delivery and storage requirements.
KSP is accredited by the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) and the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). URAC designation was earned in 2020 and allows for the provision of agents in other specialized areas, such as HIV, gastroenterology, neurology and many others.
About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
Karmanos Cancer Institute is a leader in transformative cancer care, research and education through courage, commitment and compassion. Our vision is a world free of cancer. As part of McLaren Health Care, Karmanos is the largest provider of cancer care and research in the state of Michigan. For more than 75 years, our administrative and research headquarters, along with our premier specialty cancer hospital, have been located in downtown Detroit. Our 15 network sites throughout the state deliver market-leading cancer care and clinical trials conveniently to the communities where many of our patients live. Karmanos is recognized by the National Cancer Institute as one of the best cancer centers in the nation. Our academic partnership with the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the framework for cancer research and education – defining new standards of care and improving survivorship.
Read More
PHARMACY MARKET
Everest Medicines | September 23, 2021
AbCellera and Everest Medicines Limited announced that they have entered into a multi-year collaboration and license agreement to discover therapeutic antibodies for up to 10 targets selected by Everest. The partnership will help to expand Everest’s portfolio of novel medicines across multiple indications, with the initial programs focusing on targets in oncology.
We are proud to partner with Everest as they build a robust pipeline of innovative medicines for patients in Asia and beyond, We believe our full-stack discovery engine, combined with Everest’s clinical development capabilities, creates synergy and the opportunity to speed the delivery of therapies to patients around the world.
- Carl Hansen, Ph.D., CEO and President of AbCellera.
By partnering with AbCellera, Everest will benefit from an operating system that supports many antibody modalities to unlock new target classes and open new disease areas to therapeutic access. The collaboration will leverage the full breadth of AbCellera’s technology stack, including sourcing fully humanized antibodies from the Trianni Mouse®, sourcing single domain antibodies from camelids, and combining any two antibodies to create native bispecifics using the OrthoMabTM protein engineering platform.
This collaboration will allow us to gain access to AbCellera’s cutting edge, AI-powered antibody discovery platform, which will greatly accelerate and increase the efficiency of our internal discovery efforts.
- Jennifer Yang, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Everest Medicines.
Under the terms of the agreement, Everest will have the rights to develop and commercialize antibodies resulting from the collaboration. AbCellera will receive research payments and is eligible to receive from Everest downstream clinical and commercial milestone payments and royalties on net sales of products.
About Everest Medicines
Everest Medicines is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing transformative pharmaceutical products that address critical unmet medical needs for patients in Asia markets. The management team of Everest Medicines has deep expertise and an extensive track record of high-quality clinical development, regulatory affairs, CMC, business development and operations in Asia and with leading global pharmaceutical companies. Everest Medicines has built a portfolio of ten potentially global first-in-class or best-in-class molecules, many of which are in late stage clinical development. The Company’s therapeutic areas of interest include oncology, autoimmune disorders, cardio-renal diseases and infectious diseases.
About AbCellera Biologics Inc.
AbCellera is a technology company that searches, decodes, and analyzes natural immune systems to find antibodies that its partners can develop into drugs to prevent and treat disease. AbCellera partners with drug developers of all sizes, from large pharmaceutical to small biotechnology companies, empowering them to move quickly, reduce cost, and tackle the toughest problems in drug development.
AbCellera Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. All statements contained in this release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our ability to develop, commercialize and achieve market acceptance of our current and planned products and services, our research and development efforts, and other matters regarding our business strategies, use of capital, results of operations and financial position, and plans and objectives for future operations.
Read More
BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Asymchem | September 17, 2021
Asymchem today announced a strategic partnership agreement to provide LaNova Medicines with one-stop services such as small molecule drugs, ADC project CMCs, R&D, production and IND China-US declaration.
The collaboration between Asymchem and LaNova will include small molecule drugs, monoclonal antibodies, double antibodies, ADC projects and potentially other R&D and production initiatives. This partnership will take full advantage of Asymchem's recently completed biological CDMO service platform and production base at Shanghai Jinshan, where Asymchem is already undertaking R&D and production services for a number of early IND and clinical phase projects of biological drugs. The platform can provide R&D and production services including monoclonal antibodies, double antibodies, and ADC drugs.
With the advent of the ADC drug research and development wave, ADC-related businesses have exploded, In the future, we expect to build ADC pilot and commercial production facilities to further enhance Asymchem's capabilities with ADC drugs.
- Asymchem Chief Operating Officer (COO) Yang Rui, who attended the signing ceremony in Shanghai.
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a highly promising class of targeted drugs in which drug molecules are linked to antibodies that selectively attach to the surface of cancer cells while avoiding effects on nearby healthy cells, dramatically reducing side effects. More than 100 clinical trials are underway studying the effectiveness of ADCs in treating blood, lung, breast, brain and other cancers.
Rui said the partnership was a logical next step for Asymchem as the CDMO continues to expand its capabilities and service into new business areas to offer pharmaceutical and biotech companies innovative and sustainable solutions.
About Asymchem
Founded in 1999, Asymchem stock code: 002821.SZ) is a leading global integrated Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) providing innovative drug R&D and manufacturing. Asymchem is supported by more than 5,000 employees based in PR China, the US, and the EU. Our mission is to drive efficiency through continuous technological advances for smarter, greener and more cost-effective manufacturing to support pharmaceutical clinical research and commercialization, backed by a proven track record of successful agency and industry inspections.
About LaNova Medicines
Based in Shanghai, LaNova Medicines is a clinical-stage R&D company whose primary focus is the development of macromolecular anti-tumor drugs utilizing GPCRs for monoclonal antibody production. The company's comprehensive platform capabilities include target verification, antibody engineering, production technology, preclinical and clinical research.
Read More