Addressing the need for greater affordability and access to insulin, Cigna (CI) and Express Scripts (ESRX) announced the launch of the Patient Assurance Program, which will ensure eligible people with diabetes in participating plans pay no more than $25 for a 30-day supply of insulin. The Patient Assurance Program will be available to members in participating non-government funded pharmacy plans managed by Express Scripts, including Cigna and many other health plans, with out-of-pocket costs for insulin greater than $25. Out of pocket costs for insulin include deductibles, copays or coinsurance. In most cases, people who use insulin will see lower out-of-pocket costs without any increased cost to the plan. Cigna and Express Scripts clients will activate this new program for participating plans by moving covered insulin products to a lower copayment. For users of insulin plans managed by Cigna and Express Scripts, the average out-of-pocket cost for insulin was $41.50 for a 30-day supply in 2018. Through the Patient Assurance Program, individuals who are eligible for the program will save approximately 40%, as well as gain peace of mind in knowing they will have access to improved affordability. Individuals with plan designs that involve coinsurance and/or a high deductible, will benefit the most from this new program.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Verastem initiated at Cantor Fitzgerald
Cantor Fitzgerald starts Verastem with Overweight, $5 price target. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Alethia Young started Verastem Oncology with an Overweight rating and $5 price target. The launch of the company’s first drug, Copiktra, is in the early days and investor expectations remain very low for commercial potential, Young tells investors in a research note. The analyst sees an opportunity for Copiktra, due to unmet need in the 20,000 relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma and follicular lymphoma patients. The market underappreciates the commercial potential for Copiktra, says the analyst.
Genmab announces Phase 3 study of daratumumab by Janssen
Genmab (GMXAY) announced that its collaboration partner, Janssen (JNJ), plans to start a new Phase III study of daratumumab in multiple myeloma. The study will compare subcutaneous daratumumab in combination with lenalidomide versus lenalidomide alone as maintenance treatment in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are minimal residual disease, or MRD, positive after frontline autologous stem cell transplant. The primary end point of the study is MRD conversion rate, from MRD positive to MRD negative status, at twelve months. The study is planned to start in the first half of 2019. In August 2012, Genmab granted Janssen an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize daratumumab.
Walgreens reimbursement pressure shows distributor risk: Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley analyst Ricky Goldwasser said the guidance cut made by Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is due to the same “perfect storm of industry headwinds” addressed by CVS Health (CVS) earlier in the year, including increased reimbursement pressure, lower generic deflation, lower brand inflation and declining comparable sales in the front-end of the store. Though Walgreens management suggested reimbursement headwinds should normalize in fiscal 2020, Goldwasser said he could see more downside from continued reimbursement headwinds and structural changes if new rebate rule comes into play. He also views pharmacy reimbursement pressure as a leading indicator suggesting risk to distributors’ sell side margins and earnings, including for AmerisourceBergen (ABC), which Goldwasser notes is part of the WBAD purchasing consortium. Other drug distributors include McKesson (MCK) and Cardinal Health (CAH).
Baxter price target raised to $89 from $80 at Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo analyst Larry Biegelsen raised his price target for Baxter to $89 from $80 as he believes the company has a “robust near-term pipeline” that will produce a number of important launches in late 2019 through 2020 to help accelerate sales growth from 2020 to 2023. The analyst reiterates an Outperform rating on the shares.
IMV Inc. presents preclinical research for immunotherapy program at AACR
IMV (IMV) announced that preclinical research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019 demonstrated how the mechanism of action of IMV’s proprietary DPX technology can enhance a broad spectrum of immune cell infiltration into tumors, which included T cells, Natural Killer cells, and macrophages. Analyses also revealed the differentiated characteristics of the immune cell responses and the potential implications for enhanced anti-tumor efficacy. In the poster titled, T-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding analysis of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes after treatment with a T cell activating therapy identifies a unique population of recruited CD8+ T cells and novel options for combination immunotherapy, IMV researchers used specialized data analytics to examine how DPX-based agents, when combined with cyclophosphamide, induced T cells to infiltrate tumors and attack cancerous cells. The study closely examined the types of immune cell responses and how and why they were able to affect disease. The data indicated that this approach stimulated the infiltration of a broad base of immune cells into tumors, including T cells, NK cells, and macrophages. The specific T cell population that moved into tumors could be grouped based on the co-expression of different checkpoint molecules such as PD-1 and Tim-3. However, those stimulated to infiltrate tumors generally did not express CTLA-4. Researchers also found that combining DPX/CPA treatments with a CTLA-4-blocking antibody increased efficacy in controlling tumor growth in the animal models. The data suggested that this result was due to the antibodies acting on T cells present in the tumors, rather than those induced by treatment. This finding contrasts previously published studies with anti-PD-1 combinations in which treatment directly enhanced DPX-induced T cell responses. IMV’s current clinical program includes multiple phase 2 studies assessing the safety and efficacy of its lead candidate, DPX-Survivac, in combination with mCPA and Merck’s (MRK) checkpoint inhibitor, Keytruda.
Arena Pharmaceuticals price target raised to $77 from $63 at Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse analyst Martin Auster raised his price target for Arena Pharmaceuticals to $77 from $63 as he believes etrasimod has an opportunity to emerge as the oral agent of choice in the treatment of moderate-to-severe IBD. While several effective biologic approaches exist to manage IBD, the analyst received feedback that a safe and effective oral agent will likely play a major long-term role in managing patients’ refractory to SoC, TNF-alpha antagonists. Etrasimod may be the 3rd or 4th oral agent to the market, but Auster sees its clinical profile supporting it as the best agent. The analyst reiterates an Outperform rating on the shares.
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