5 New Drug Approvals for Rheumatology Patients

Second etanercept biosimilar approved. On Friday, April 26, etanercept-ykro (Eticovo) became the second biosimilar to etanercept (Enbrel, Amgen) to be approved by the FDA. The first, etanercept-szzs (Erelzi), was approved in 2016. Etanercept-ykro was approved to treat all indications of etanercept, which includes rheumatoid arthritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, and ankylosing spondylitis. (©Hafakot, AdobeStock)

Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia, UCB) for non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. Approved in March 2019, this TNF blocker is approved to treat adults with nr-axSpA inflammation. Administered subcutaneously, certolizumab pegol, is also approved for Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. (Photo courtesy of UCB)

Moisturizing lotion Duobrii (halobetasol propionate and tazarotene, Ortho Dermatologics) approved for plaque psoriasis. Duobrii, with active ingredients 0.01% halobetasol propionate and 0.045% tazarotene, is available by prescription for adults. (Photo courtesy of Ortho Dermatologics)

Risankizumab-rzaa (Skyrizi, AbbVie) approved for plaque psoriasis. The FDA has approved this IL-23 inhibitor for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. It is the third IL-23 inhibitor to be approved in 12 months preceded by guselkumab (Tremfya, Janssen Biotech) and tildrakizumab-asmn (Ilumya, Merck/Sun Pharmaceuticals). (Photo courtesy of AbbVie)

New osteoporosis treatment. The FDA has approved Evenity (romosozumab-aqqg, Amgen) for osteoporosis treatment in postmenopausal women who are at high risk for bone fractures, including women with a history of osteoporotic fracture, women for whome existing medications fail or who are intolerant to existing medications. (Photo courtesy of Amgen)

Drug spending soared 18 percent in 2018. Drug spending rose 18 percent in 2018, according to the newly released Medical Pharmacy Trend report by Magellan Rx Management. Commercial per-member-per-month medical drug spend increased to $29.97, which 14% above the average annual trend over the last five years. Medicare PMPM rose 12 percent to $52.19. Visit our sister site Drug Topics for the full article. 

Prices for generic drugs continue to fall. Generic drug prices have fallen by 9.3 percent between 2016-2017, the AARP reports. The decline is part of a general decrease in the prices of generic drugs over the past 15 years. Of the 390 generic drug prices analyzed, 90 had a price increase in 2017. Six had a price increase that was more than 70 percent, and one (sertraline HCL 50-mg tablet) had an increase of 200 percent. (©iQoncept, AdobeStock)

Opinion: Big storm brewing for U.S. specialty pharmacies. Specialty pharmacies dispense some of the most expensive, sensitive, and life-saving medications to patients, the kinds of medications that can cost more than $100,000 a year. Unfortunately, the way these prescriptions are being filled today is often chaotic and ripe for fraud, is different in each state, and potentially is about to get even worse for patients. Learn more in this article from our sister publication Drug Topics. (©Leowolfert, AdobeStock)

Specialty pharmacies on the rise. Specialty pharmacies continue their rapid growth. More than 900 unique pharmacy locations received specialty pharmacy accreditation by the end of 2018, a 25% increase from 2017, according to a DCI report. Learn more in this article from our sister publication Drug Topics.