- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Anti-PD-1 Treatment Selection
During this segment, Richard W. Joseph, MD, describes the effectiveness of the anti-PD-1 agents pembrolizumab and nivolumab, and discusses similarities and differences between the 2 drugs.
Dr Joseph explains that although no head-to-head trials have directly compared the 2 agents, cross-trial comparisons have demonstrated that they are similar in terms of safety and efficacy. For this reason, he questions why the FDA approved pembrolizumab after just a phase 1 study but required a phase 3 study prior to approving nivolumab.
One difference between the 2 drugs, he notes, is that while nivolumab is administered every 2 weeks, pembrolizumab is given every 3 weeks.
Dr Joseph suggests that unless proved otherwise, the agents should be considered equivalent by managed care organizations and payer coverage should be the same for both drugs.
The Future of Drug Pricing: Most Favored Nation, PBMs, and Patient Access
July 11th 2025During the Reshaping Rx: Navigating 2025 Drug Pricing Policies webinar, panelists discussed the Most Favored Nation executive order, bills aimed at pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and other drug pricing policies.
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