Articles
Although performance category weightings remain unchanged from 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has raised the bar for participating providers by increasing the performance threshold from 30 to 45 points in 2020.
The use of combination therapies in the first- and second-line settings for advanced ovarian cancer has the potential to improve patient outcomes.
Although federal reform efforts are likely to stall in the Senate, legislation prohibiting gag clauses, claw backs, and price spreading are being passed at the state level.
Patients and healthcare providers should be aware of the toxicities that may occur with the use of PARP inhibitors so that they can manage them appropriately.
On January 29, 2020, Eli Lilly announced that the FDA granted priority review to their New Drug Application for selpercatinib (LOXO-292) for the treatment of patients with advanced RET fusion-positive non–small-cell lung cancer, RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer, and RET fusion-positive thyroid cancer. The FDA is aiming to provide its decision on the approval of selpercatinib in the third quarter of 2020.
On January 23, 2020, the FDA granted accelerated approval to tazemetostat (Tazverik; Epizyme), a methyltransferase inhibitor, for the treatment of metastatic or locally advanced epithelioid sarcoma in adults and pediatric patients aged ≥16 years who are not eligible for complete resection.
Results from 3 clinical trials demonstrate the value of PARP inhibitors as first-line or maintenance therapies in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.
The Final Rule by the HSS means that manufacturers’ copay cards or coupons do not apply to a patient’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum limits in certain situations, but further clarification is needed.
CMS approves changes allowing limited utilization management in protected classes of drugs. However, other proposed changes that would have further eroded patient access were not implemented.
A bipartisan bill designed to remove disparity in pricing between intravenously administered drugs and orally administered drugs for patients with cancer was passed in the House in March 2019 but awaits action in the Senate.