According to a recent story in the New York Times (Speedy Drug Approvals Have Become the Rule, Not the Exception), FDA approval timeframes for new specialty drugs are being shortened and the pipeline is filling up with new medications. That’s why it’s more important than ever for plan sponsors to be aware of new drugs on the horizon.
Do you have any idea about the likelihood of one of these expensive pipeline medications hitting your plan? Using your own medical plan data, Lockton can help you uncover valuable insight about potential impact of specialty drugs on your costs. With so many approvals expected in second half of 2015, now is the time to look at your population’s disease burden.
Every employer’s population is different, so there’s no single approach to managing specialty drugs. Plus, for many of these new medications about to hit the market, we’re talking about treatments for orphan diseases (by definition, an orphan disease affects 200,000 or fewer Americans). So it’s crucial for you to focus on your own medical data rather than relying on statistics.
Lockton is carefully monitoring the FDA approvals pipeline, and we can help you stay on top of your drug spend. For more information, read our latest Benefits Insight & Guidance on using data to predict specialty drug costs.