Generating Real-World Evidence for Formulary Development: Health Plan Strategies and Results
Webinar • Thursday, February 16, 2012 • 1:00-2:30 Eastern time

Sponsored by Atlantic Information Services, Inc., publisher of
Drug Benefit News, Specialty Pharmacy News and Health Plan Week

Comparative-effectiveness research (CER) has been gaining ground as health plans seek to provide optimal patient care through evidence-based decisions. The federal government has recognized the importance of CER with the establishment of a national data clearinghouse and funding of other research activities, but it has not yet delivered the evidence that payers are seeking. As a result, insurers and PBMs are conducting their own real-world evidence studies to determine which drug therapies are both clinically effective and cost-efficient.

Find out what innovative steps two industry leaders have taken to generate real-world data to develop better drugs and help payers make outcomes-based formulary decisions.

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More than half of the new drugs approved by the FDA during the past decade have been accompanied by some form of comparative-effectiveness data from clinical trials. But health plan experts often discount the study design, the lack of full category comparisons or the data’s ability to be applied to the real world and help payers determine which therapies deserve preferred status. While randomized controlled trials continue to be the gold standard, managed care experts are increasingly recognizing the value of supplemental real-world data in helping them to make formulary decisions. And although more than $1.1 billion in ARRA funds have been earmarked for CER and the health reform law established the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, plans can’t afford to wait for new data.

As a result, health plans and PBMs alike are teaming up with pharmaceutical companies to perform their own CER to determine the therapies in various categories that have the most value for payers. For example, HealthCore, Inc., the health outcomes research subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc., and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP have pooled their resources to conduct real-world studies aimed at determining how to most effectively and economically treat disease, with special emphasis on chronic illnesses. Unlike controlled clinical trials, real-world evidence studies use observational data such as electronic medical records, claims information and patient surveys.

Join us on Feb. 16 as Marcus D. Wilson, from HealthCore, and Brian Sweet, from AstraZeneca, demonstrate how their companies have collaborated to deliver real-world evidence to payers. You’ll get insider perspectives on key questions such as:

• How are health plans using real-world evidence today? With what results?
• How can these data be used to improve the quality of health care and reduce costs?
• What methods can health plans use to generate real-world evidence?
• Which therapeutic conditions would benefit from these data the most?
• What are the most important lessons learned so far from the HealthCore-AstraZeneca collaboration?

Sponsored by Atlantic Information Services, Inc., publisher of
Drug Benefit News, Specialty Pharmacy News and Health Plan Week

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