“The Emerging Biologics Landscape”, which also featured Chad Pettit, Executive Director of Marketing at Amgen, and Wesley Mizutani, MD, a rheumatologist with Optum Medical Group. The discussion was moderated by David Charles, MD, founder of the Alliance for Patient Access.

Schneider discussed the pharmacist role regarding biosimilars, which includes keeping effectiveness & safety at the forefront of treatment decisions as our health system work to make responsible use of limited resources.

Another major topic of discussion was the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in treatment decision-making and their impact on patient access to care. PBMs have eveloved from entities which simply processed claims, Schneider explained, into powerful entities with the ability to move market share through formulary design and rebates. This disrupts the autonomy of prescribers when a third party is effectively making clinical decisions. Pharmacists also feel they are losing control, as economics is often emphasized over medication effectiveness and patient health. Putting money into an intermediary often drives cost upward, Schneider observed.