Due to Rising Costs of Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Drugs, Managed Care Organization Pharmacy Directors Will be Forced to Tighten Their Formularies

NASHVILLE, Tenn. and GLEN ROCK, N.J., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthLeaders-InterStudy and Fingertip Formulary find that due to the rising costs of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drugs, managed care organization pharmacy directors will tighten their formularies. According to the report entitled Formulary Advantages in Asthma and COPD, the majority of surveyed pharmacy directors expect asthma and COPD drug prices to increase over the next five years by an average of three percent annually and believe they can implement tightened formulary strategies to slow down this trend.

The arrival of generics and branded generics may lead managed care organizations to include only the highest-rebating therapy on Tier 2 and shift other medications within a drug class to Tier 3 or exclude them from their formulary altogether. Novel branded long-acting beta-2 agonists and inhaled corticosteroid (LABA/ICS) combination therapies are expected to launch in 2013-2014 and will generate enough competition to spur the use of higher rebates for tier placement.

"As the price for asthma and COPD drugs increases and competition among therapies grows, more plans will consider tightened formularies and formulary exclusion," said HealthLeaders-InterStudy Analyst Roy Moore, author of the report. "Medicare plans are taking the lead with tighter formularies. Pharmaceutical companies will have to consider using rebates to ensure preferred formulary status for asthma and COPD drugs on most health plans."

The new Formulary Forum report is based on a survey of 47 U.S. pharmacy directors who control formularies at national, regional and state-level managed care organizations, as well as historical formulary data from Fingertip Formulary.

About Fingertip Formulary

Fingertip Formulary (www.FingertipFormulary.com), the leading provider of access to and insight into formulary data in the United States, offers comprehensive formulary data covering commercial, Medicaid, Medicare and PBM plans, among others. Fingertip Formulary is a Decision Resources, Inc. company.

About HealthLeaders-InterStudy

HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a Decision Resources, Inc. company, is the authoritative source for managed care data, analysis and news. For more information, please visit www.HL-ISY.com.

About Decision Resources, Inc.

Decision Resources, Inc. is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Both HealthLeaders-InterStudy and Fingertip Formulary are Decision Resources, Inc. companies. Please visit Decision Resources, Inc. at www.DecisionResourcesInc.com.

All company, brand or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE HealthLeaders-InterStudy

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