Gilead shelved safer HIV drugs for years to protect its TDF monopoly, another lawsuit says

Gilead Sciences is no stranger to furious patients and advocates, many of whom have said over the years that the company puts shareholder interests over their own. Now, two patients allege that the drugmaker shelved better HIV treatments in favor of monopoly sales and at the detriment of their health. Gilead's Viread, or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), won FDA approval in 2001. The plaintiffs, California residents Michael Lujano and Jonathan Gary, allege that the company knew the compound carried serious health risks, but hid that info and secretly advanced research on better drugs. Before those drugs, based on a less toxic compound, tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), would hit the market, Gilead released two drugs, Truvada and Atripla, each of which contained the original TDF. Lujano and Gary took those drugs for many years and are now suffering from osteopenia and osteoporosis. Gary additionally suffers from Fanconi syndrome.

Spotlight

Spotlight

Related News

PHARMA TECH

GoodRx and MedImpact Announce Program to Ensure Seamless Access to Affordable Prescriptions

Business Wire | September 14, 2023

GoodRx a leading resource for healthcare savings and information, and MedImpact, the independent pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and health solutions company, announced a new savings solution designed to integrate GoodRx’s prescription pricing in a seamless experience at the pharmacy counter. Now, when an eligible MedImpact member fills a prescription for a generic medication, it will automatically compare their benefit and the GoodRx price and then deliver the lowest one. The amount paid will be applied to the member’s deductible. “This solution allows us to meet Americans where they are by providing them with low prices on their prescriptions without the need for them to compare costs on their own,” said Cynthia Meiners, Strategic Program Development Officer at GoodRx. “We are bringing together the best of what GoodRx does with the best of what MedImpact does to make it incredibly convenient for MedImpact’s members to start and stay on their prescribed treatments, and to fully integrate their clinical data. We truly feel the future of healthcare lies in these types of integrations.” The collaboration achieved by integrating GoodRx’s price comparison technology with MedImpact’s advanced technology platform allows both companies to deliver more savings without any additional work on the part of the consumer. In addition, members will benefit from the seamless data integration this program provides. Through MedImpact’s rigorous drug safety review, which includes thousands of health and safety checks, patients will be alerted about any negative drug interactions. “We are delivering to clients a full portfolio of health, wellness and savings solutions and we see this program as an important part of it,” Marcus Sredzinski, Pharm D, General Manager and MedImpact Senior Vice President. “This delivers hassle-free savings to members, while helping payers capture clinical and adherence data they may have otherwise missed.” GoodRx is actively working to access new lives by expanding its prescription savings reach by partnering with pharmacy benefit managers and their plan sponsors to collaboratively integrate into the insurance benefit market. Through these programs with CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and MedImpact, GoodRx savings are seamlessly integrated at point-of-sale with three major PBMs that reach over 60% of insured lives. This new program will become available to eligible MedImpact members starting January 1, 2024. About GoodRx GoodRx is a leading resource for healthcare savings and information that makes healthcare affordable and convenient for all Americans. We offer consumers free access to transparent and lower prices for brand and generic medications, affordable and convenient medical provider consultations via telehealth, and comprehensive healthcare research and information. Since 2011, we have helped consumers save over $60 billion and are one of the most downloaded medical apps over the past decade. GoodRx periodically posts information that may be important to investors on its investor relations website at https://investors.goodrx.com. We intend to use our website as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors and potential investors are encouraged to consult GoodRx’s website regularly for important information, in addition to following GoodRx’s press releases, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and public conference calls and webcasts. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, GoodRx’s website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this press release. About MedImpact For more than 30 years, MedImpact has been building, delivering, and reimagining pharmacy benefit solutions for healthcare payers who face complex and dynamic challenges. As the leading independent PBM, we offer clients the clarity they need to make care and cost decisions; control over a powerful suite of solutions that manage pharmacy spend; and confidence that comes from a proven PBM partner who is fully aligned with their goals and invested in their future.

Read More

PHARMACY MARKET

TailorMed Partners with Eagle Pharmaceuticals to Streamline Patient Financial Assistance Enrollment

Business Wire | October 25, 2023

TailorMed, a leading technology company offering the nation’s largest network of patients, providers, pharmacies, life science companies, and other partners dedicated to improving healthcare affordability, announced Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will be implementing TailorMed’s Express Enroll solution. This partnership will introduce new efficiencies in seeking to secure financial assistance for patients prescribed Eagle’s Pemfexy to manage and treat lung cancer. With Express Enroll, providers and pharmacies within the TailorMed network can now complete Pemfexy Copay Assistance Program enrollments through a fully digital process, without leaving the TailorMed platform. Nearly half of cancer patients with high out-of-pocket costs have abandoned or delayed filling a prescription. Cost-related prescription abandonment and nonadherence lead to poor patient experiences and outcomes. TailorMed’s network-driven, technology-powered approach offers a comprehensive solution by uniting all impacted parties with the same goal: helping ensure that every patient, across all medical conditions, can afford care. TailorMed’s solutions have now been implemented across more than 700 hospitals, 1,200-plus clinics, and over 600 pharmacies. Without the use of technology, the process of identifying and enrolling patients in financial assistance is typically manual, cumbersome, and reactive, resulting in missed opportunities to maximize available resources. The TailorMed platform enables users—who include financial navigators, medication assistance coordinators, pharmacy technicians, and other healthcare professionals—to proactively match patients with the right resources at the right time. Its Express Enroll solution uses automatic data mapping, real-time API connections, and embedded e-signature workflows to facilitate seamless, in-platform enrollment in assistance offered by pharmaceutical companies. These capabilities will empower TailorMed users to complete Pemfexy Copay Assistance Program enrollments quickly and efficiently, supporting stronger patient experiences and medication adherence. “This partnership with TailorMed underscores our commitment to supporting patient access to Pemfexy,” said William Kim, VP of Market Access, Oncology at Eagle Pharmaceuticals. “A technology-driven enrollment approach will make enrollment in the Pemfexy Copay Assistance Program more efficient, which benefits patients and healthcare provider offices.” “The impact of healthcare affordability is far-reaching and requires a network approach, uniting stakeholders across the entire ecosystem,” said Srulik Dvorsky, Co-founder and CEO of TailorMed. “Trailblazers in the life sciences industry stand to strengthen this network considerably by providing direct access to financial assistance for lifesaving medications. We’re proud to partner with Eagle Pharmaceuticals to help further patient enrollment and improve access to Pemfexy.” About TailorMed TailorMed offers the nation’s largest network of patients, providers, pharmacies, partners, and life science companies focused on ensuring all patients across all medical conditions can afford treatment. Driven by TailorMed's best-in-class platform, network constituents can proactively identify, match, and enroll patients in financial assistance programs to deliver a world-class patient financial experience while reducing the cost of care delivery and increasing revenues. TailorMed’s secure, web-based financial assistance solutions are deployed across more than 1,000 sites of care, including Providence Health, UnityPoint Health, Yale-New Haven Health, and Advocate Aurora Health. About Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Eagle is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company with research and development, clinical, manufacturing and commercial expertise. Eagle is committed to developing innovative medicines that result in meaningful improvements in patients’ lives. Eagle’s commercialized products include PEMFEXY®, RYANODEX®, BENDEKA®, BELRAPZO®, TREAKISYM® (Japan), and Byfavo® and Barhemsys® through its wholly owned subsidiary Acacia Pharma Inc. Eagle’s oncology and CNS/metabolic critical care pipeline includes product candidates with the potential to address underserved therapeutic areas across multiple disease states, and the company is focused on developing medicines with the potential to become part of the personalized medicine paradigm in cancer care.

Read More

PHARMA TECH

OM1 Launches Asthma and Chronic Rhinosinusitis Datasets to Expand Real-World Evidence in Respiratory and ENT

Business Wire | October 05, 2023

OM1, a leading real-world data, AI, and technology company with a focus on chronic diseases, announced the launch of two new clinical datasets, Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) and Asthma. Both datasets are derived from longitudinal follow-up of patients seen by specialists and focus on patient characteristics, symptoms, treatments, clinical outcomes and healthcare resource utilization. Rapidly growing, the CRS and Asthma datasets each follow approximately 500,000 patients in the U.S. The research-grade, real-world data available in the OM1 Respiratory & ENT Network is built with an exclusive partnership between OM1 and the American Academy of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF). With access to thousands of clinicians and more than 25 million patient visits across all 50 states, the data is rich with the most representative network available, including patient reported outcomes, social determinants of health, and patient subtypes and classification data. Millions of Americans are impacted by respiratory diseases, and the number continues to rise as respiratory illnesses become more common and air quality declines. Taking a deeper look, it’s estimated that 25 million people in the United States are diagnosed with asthma and 5-12% of the global population is affected by CRS. Not only do the numbers continue to rise, it’s common for patients with respiratory diseases to have multiple illnesses. Studies show that up to 67% of people with CRS with nasal polyps, small noncancerous growths that increase the severity of the disease, also have asthma. "Having access to deep clinical information on clinical presentation, treatments, and outcomes opens a world of incredible opportunity to improve care at both the population and individual patient level,” said Dr. Richard Gliklich, CEO, OM1. Alongside AAO, OM1 and Dr. Gliklich will be participating and presenting at the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting and OTO Experience in Nashville, October 1-4. About OM1 With specialization in chronic conditions, OM1 is re-imagining real-world evidence and insights by developing large electronically connected networks of clinicians and health data in dermatology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, cardiology, metabolism, respiratory, mental health, neurology and other specialty areas. Leveraging its data automation platform, OM1 Aspen, extensive clinical networks and artificial intelligence (AI) platform, PhenOM™, OM1 offers industry-leading enriched healthcare datasets, retrospective and prospective studies, advanced analytics, and AI-driven guidelines adherence and decision-support around diagnosis, risk management, and treatment. With a focus on high-quality data and clinical outcomes, the offerings are used for accelerating research, demonstrating treatment effectiveness, supporting regulatory submissions, monitoring safety, and informing commercialization.

Read More