Ryan Haumschild, PharmD, MS, MBA, CPEL

Panelists discuss how health systems can learn from published case examples when implementing biosimilars, noting that biosimilars can create a “win-win” situation where patients see lower costs, payers see lower charges, and providers may experience better margins.

Panelists discuss how implementing interchangeable biosimilars requires effective communication with providers and patients, emphasizing that educating stakeholders before making changes is essential for successful adoption despite the legal permissions afforded by interchangeability designation.

Panelists discuss how to balance the clinical benefits of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor therapies with their associated costs when making treatment decisions for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), considering both patient outcomes and financial constraints.

Panelists discuss the primary access challenges in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) treatment, including financial barriers and health care system limitations, and how these obstacles impact patient outcomes and treatment efficacy.

Panelists discuss how alectinib use in the adjuvant setting might shift sequencing strategies in metastatic ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and how resistance mutations influence post-frontline therapy selection.

Panelists discuss how to overcome barriers to comprehensive molecular testing and how to prioritize treatment when ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) coexists with other actionable biomarkers.

Panelists discuss how biosimilars for adalimumab have faced unique challenges in the prescription benefit space compared with earlier oncology biosimilars, highlighting the importance of interchangeability designation, advance planning, and stakeholder education when implementing biosimilar adoption strategies.

Panelists discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 has influenced biosimilar utilization in the US health care system through its pharmacy provisions targeting Medicare patients, examining institutional impacts on adoption patterns, exploring payer preferences between high- and low-wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) therapies under the new regulatory framework, forecasting the evolving role of biosimilars at health care institutions, and identifying persistent barriers to uptake alongside potential strategies to overcome these challenges.

Panelists discuss how proactive patient education, lipid-lowering interventions, and monitoring tools can help patients stay on ALK inhibitor therapy to realize long-term benefits.

Panelists discuss how lorlatinib’s unique adverse event (AE) profile, including cognitive effects, hypercholesterolemia, and peripheral neuropathy, impacts treatment selection and patient management.

Panelists discuss how stakeholders can prepare for the upcoming interchangeability designation of more biosimilars later this year, debating whether interchangeability status or formulary-level changes are more impactful and identifying necessary systemic shifts required to ensure both patients and health systems realize meaningful cost savings when transitioning from reference products to biosimilars.

Panelists discuss how major PBMs' (pharmacy benefit managers) decisions to prefer biosimilars over reference biologics provide valuable insights into successful adoption strategies, specifically examining CVS Caremark's removal of reference biologic adalimumab from national commercial template formularies, which resulted in 97% of prescriptions being filled with preferred biosimilars, and analyzing the key implementation factors driving this remarkable conversion rate.

Panelists discuss how ALK inhibitors compare in terms of tolerability and best practices for managing associated toxicities.

Panelists discuss how currently available ALK inhibitors compare in terms of efficacy, durability of response, and central nervous system (CNS) penetration for metastatic non–small cell lung cancer treatment.

Panelists discuss how biosimilar manufacturers offer both high-wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) and low-WAC product versions to navigate complex reimbursement landscapes, sharing their experiences with low-WAC options on formularies, defining private label agreements as strategies to improve biosimilar access across different patient populations, and examining the rationale behind PBMs' (pharmacy benefit managers) implementation of these agreements, including their specific components and benefits.

Panelists discuss how the significant price increases in reference biologics over the past decade have created market opportunities for biosimilars while exploring barriers to their adoption, potential solutions for enhancing uptake, and successful institutional strategies for increasing biosimilar utilization.

Panelists discuss how clinical trial outcomes like CROWN and eXalt3 reflect real-world patient experiences and how these collective data have changed perspectives on frontline therapies for ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Panelists discuss how matching-adjusted indirect comparisons (MAIC) of ALK inhibitors and the FDA approval of ensartinib in December 2024 influence frontline treatment selection for ALK+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Panelists discuss how the 5-year CROWN trial data for lorlatinib have shaped the treatment paradigm for ALK+ metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), particularly regarding long-term survival, durability of response, and management of brain metastases.

Panelists discuss how they will explore optimizing care for patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (ALK+ NSCLC) through treatment selection, sequencing strategies, and interpretation of emerging clinical data.

Panelists discuss challenges oncologists face in managing treatment-naive patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), including balancing efficacy with adverse effect profiles, and highlight strategies such as multidisciplinary collaboration and access to updated treatment guidelines to address these issues while also expressing eagerness for future advancements in Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors and the need for further research to refine treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes.

Panelists discuss proactive measures that health care teams can implement to manage adverse events associated with Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, such as early monitoring, dose adjustments, and supportive care, while emphasizing the importance of patient education to improve adherence and ensure positive treatment outcomes.

Panelists discuss how they engage patients in shared decision-making by prioritizing open communication, discussing treatment options in the context of both clinical factors and patient preferences, and using strategies such as decision aids and detailed counseling to ensure that patient values and quality of life are fully integrated into the treatment planning process.

Panelists discuss how stakeholders can enhance biosimilar uptake through coordinated efforts in financial alignment, patient-centric pricing, professional education, simplified administrative processes, and collaborative data exchange.

Panelists discuss how clinical and patient-specific factors, such as comorbidities, age, and risk profiles, influence the selection of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors for treatment-naive patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) while also considering how these factors align or differ from patient preferences regarding treatment duration, adverse effect profiles, and lifestyle impact.

Panelists discuss how Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors have transformed the treatment paradigm for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), especially in the frontline setting, by offering effective, targeted therapy that provides significant clinical benefits and improves overall survival compared with traditional chemotherapy.

Panelists discuss how health care professionals have varying confidence in biosimilars, driven by concerns about efficacy, safety, and interchangeability. Increased education, real-world evidence, professional engagement, transparent regulations, and comprehensive outcome data can help build trust in these alternative biologic treatments.

Panelists discuss how biosimilars are gaining traction through targeted education, cost-effectiveness analysis, and rigorous clinical validation, with providers increasingly integrating these alternatives by addressing knowledge barriers and demonstrating comparable therapeutic performance.

Panelists discuss exciting updates on Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors from the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, highlighting emerging data that may refine their use in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), particularly in optimizing treatment duration and sequencing to improve patient outcomes.

Panelists discuss how patient-reported outcomes and real-world evidence influence clinical decision-making when selecting Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).