Pharmacy benefits managers are building lucrative side businesses in specialty drugs, becoming in some cases the sole distributors for certain niche medications. Critics say distributing these drugs--whose prices are rising much faster than other meds'--could conflict with the PBMs' primary mission of keeping overall drug prices down for health insurers.
- read the story [1] in the New York Times
Related Articles:
Specialty-drug spending spawns protest. Specialty drug report [2]
Can specialty drugs turn pharma tide? Drug report [3]
Specialty drugs emerge as key price driver. Drug report [4]
Links:
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/business/19specialty.html?em&ex=1208836800&en=de38dac6d575c00b&ei=5087%0A
[2] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/specialty-drug-spending-spawns-protest/2008-03-20
[3] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/can-specialty-drugs-turn-pharma-tide/2008-02-13
[4] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/metric-specialty-drugs-emerge-as-key-price-driver/2006-05-19