Pharmacy innovation is at an all-time high. With countless clinical trials, improved diagnostic capabilities and groundbreaking therapies, people are living longer with fewer side effects. Despite the unprecedented upside, this evolution, or more accurately revolution, is adding complexity and cost to an already challenging landscape.
To help our partners better understand how to navigate these changes, Express Scripts® by Evernorth analyzed data and feedback from consumers, employers and health plan leaders nationwide. We compared the results from this survey to extensive research published by the Evernorth Research Institute, along with external trends from across the pharmaceutical industry. Our research uncovered three key areas at the forefront of pharmacy today. We developed our Pharmacy in Focus report to summarize these trends and help our partners develop strategies to address them in 2024 and beyond.
1. New innovations in therapy bring new challenges
Biosimilars, gene therapies and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists are just a few of the new therapies delivering never-before-seen health outcomes for members. But these innovations also bring additional cost, complexity and lack of predictability for plans and payers.
The rise of biosimilars
Biosimilars are powerful therapies derived from living organisms, such as blood, cells, tissues or proteins. These safe, clinically equivalent drugs are rapidly entering the market, offering a lower price themselves or forcing existing, name brand drugs to meet or even beat their price. This competition offers significant opportunity for the 52% of Americans with a chronic illness, because each biosimilar that enters the market promises better affordability for people paying for medication month after month. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are fiercely fighting to keep their formulas from being replicated by biosimilars. There are also legal and regulatory barriers that must be overcome before a biosimilar can be deemed as an interchangeable alternative. To take advantage of the savings biosimilars offer, payers must have a partner that can keep them informed of the clinical pipeline and regulatory updates.