Small tactics to counter Big Pharma’s influence on medication overload

Money talks in Washington, D.C., and no sector of the economy speaks more loudly than the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Its flow of cash has fostered an epidemic of medication overload. Over the past five years, pharma has spent about $1.2 billion lobbying federal lawmakers, far more than any other industry. The industry has massive influence over public policy, much of it devoted in recent months to hindering legislative efforts to lower drug prices. In addition to keeping prices high, the industry has protected its freedom to market its products. A series of Supreme Court rulings from the 1970s through the 1990s opened the floodgates to direct-to-consumer drug ads in print and broadcast media.

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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.

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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.

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PHARMACY MARKET

Halozyme Announces Positive Clinical Data of its High-Volume Auto-Injector Demonstrating Successful Rapid Subcutaneous Drug Delivery

PR Newswire | October 19, 2023

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. announced positive results of a clinical study demonstrating subcutaneous administration of 10 mL of a representative biologic product co-formulated with its ENHANZE® drug delivery technology, in approximately 30 seconds. In the study, the biologic was delivered with Halozyme's proprietary high-volume auto-injector (HVAI) in healthy volunteers. The injection was delivered successfully to all 23 participants and was well tolerated. "To our knowledge, this is the first clinical study of its kind," said Mike LaBarre, chief technical officer of Halozyme. "Traditional subcutaneous auto-injector delivery methods are typically limited to volumes less than 2 mL or require long delivery times at slow rates for higher volumes. By enabling rapid subcutaneous injection of high volumes of biologic products, our ENHANZE drug delivery technology in combination with our proprietary HVAI has the potential to improve the patient experience for multiple therapies." In the study, a representative biologic, immunoglobulin 10%, was delivered to 23 healthy volunteers. The primary endpoint of the study was achieved with all subjects receiving the completed dose with HVAI, demonstrating that 10 mL of a representative biologic product can be rapidly delivered using Halozyme's ENHANZE® and HVAI technologies. Data Highlights 96% of participants stated that they would be willing to receive the injection again. 90% of participants indicated feeling either no pain or mild pain immediately after injection. Erythema, swelling, and induration were generally minimal to mild and resolved by 90 minutes or less. Biologics delivered subcutaneously through auto-injectors are typically restricted to doses of 1-2 mL. This limitation is caused by hyaluronan, a molecule that inhibits fluid dispersion in the subcutaneous space. Halozyme's ENHANZE® drug delivery technology is based on a proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (rHuPH20), an enzyme that locally degrades hyaluronan in the subcutaneous space. This temporarily increases the permeability of the tissue under the skin, allowing space for the biologic to enter, enabling it to be rapidly dispersed and absorbed into the bloodstream. "These results support our continued dedication to providing innovative drug delivery options to patients," said Helen Torley, chief executive officer of Halozyme. "Our ENHANZE drug delivery and HVAI technologies have the potential to rapidly deliver large volume therapeutics subcutaneously with the potential for meaningful clinical benefits." Halozyme's HVAI is available to partners for clinical use. About Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. Halozyme is a biopharmaceutical company bringing disruptive solutions to significantly improve patient experiences and outcomes for emerging and established therapies. As the innovators of the ENHANZE® drug delivery technology with the proprietary enzyme rHuPH20, Halozyme's commercially-validated solution is used to facilitate the delivery of injected drugs and fluids in order to reduce the treatment burden to patients. Having touched more than 700,000 patient lives in post-marketing use in seven commercialized products across more than 100 global markets, Halozyme has licensed its ENHANZE® technology to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Roche, Takeda, Pfizer, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Alexion, argenx, Horizon Therapeutics, ViiV Healthcare and Chugai Pharmaceutical. Halozyme also develops, manufactures and commercializes, for itself or with partners, drug-device combination products using its advanced auto-injector technology that are designed to provide commercial or functional advantages such as improved convenience and tolerability, and enhanced patient comfort and adherence. The Company has a commercial portfolio of proprietary products including XYOSTED®, TLANDO® and NOCDURNA® and partnered commercial products and ongoing product development programs with several pharmaceutical companies including Teva Pharmaceutical, Pfizer and Idorsia Pharmaceuticals.

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