AscellaHealth Highlights 2022 Key Trends in Specialty Pharmacy: Rising Costs, Expensive Cell/Gene Therapies, Management of Patients on High-Cost Therapies & Vertical Integration of Specialty Pharmacies into Healthcare Organizations

BERWYN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AscellaHealth, a global specialty pharmacy and healthcare solutions company, forecasts key trends for Specialty Pharmacy (SP) in 2022, including 1) continued utilization and rising costs of specialty agents, 2) emergence of ultra-high-cost specialty agents and cell/gene therapies for rare and orphan diseases, 3) more focused management of the high-cost specialty drug patients to ensure compliance and optimize outcomes and 4) vertical integration of specialty pharmacies into healthcare organizations.

Learn about transformative changes in the SP marketplace by downloading the third issue of AscellaHealth’s newsletter, Developments in Specialty Pharmacy.

“Specialty medications typically account for more than 50% of all drug spend but only account for less than 2% of total utilization,” says Dea Belazi, president and CEO, AscellaHealth. “Greater focus in this area ensures that specialty drugs are seamlessly accessed by prescribed patients, and that drug therapy is monitored for effectiveness, compliance and adherence to treatment.”

He also points out that a patient’s ability to pay for specialty medications will continue to be an issue because specialty drug costs are prohibitive and add barriers to patient accessibility.

“With patients’ out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs having increased faster than gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past decade, expect to see greater reliance on customized copay assistance programs and innovative financial and technology solutions, such as loan-based assistance to help offset the high-cost of cell/gene therapies and other novel agents, which can make a real difference for patients and payers,” he adds.

Another key trend is carve-out of specialty drugs from the medical and pharmacy benefit to reduce costs, expand the availability of specialty drugs, and promote enhanced patient health outcomes. Appropriate medication therapy management and utilization management programs can be customized and aligned with each plan sponsor to accomplish these multiple objectives.

In 2022, biosimilars are poised to trend upwards due to a number of additional blockbuster drugs losing patent protection. The rising burden of various chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, will continue to fuel the biosimilar market, with affordability impacting market adoption.

Belazi adds, “AscellaHealth’s care model ensures that patients can receive medically necessary therapies to improve timeliness of care and better outcomes. Our patient-first approach allows all stakeholders to connect effortlessly, rather than operating independently. This results in a higher level of care continuity that strengthens communication, yields rich data for optimizing outcomes and improves the overall patient experience.”

About AscellaHealth LLC
AscellaHealth is a global Specialty Pharmacy and Healthcare services organization serving patients, payers, life sciences and providers, offering a comprehensive portfolio of customized, tech-enabled specialty pharmaceutical and medical management services. An Inc. 5000 2021 winner, AscellaHealth’s unique, patient-centric approach supports its strategic partnership with Optime Care and is built upon proprietary technology processes for innovative programs and services optimizing health outcomes and quality of life for patients with complex chronic conditions or rare diseases that require specialty medications and/or gene and cell therapies. Visit www.AscellaHealth.com.

Media:
Nicole Dufour
CPR Communications
ndufour@cpronline.com
201.641.1911 x 54