Navigate the healthcare industry
Healthcare Brew covers pharmaceutical developments, health startups, the latest tech, and how it impacts hospitals and providers to keep administrators and providers informed.
The year is nearly done, and it’s been a busy one for the pharma world.
Healthcare Brew asked leaders from across the pharmacy industry to reflect on what trends defined 2024. They mentioned emerging obesity treatments, increased scrutiny on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and changing consumer habits.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Rick Gates, SVP and chief pharmacy officer, Walgreens
There’s no doubt that 2024 was a pivotal year for pharmacy and the healthcare industry as a whole. I believe the unprecedented spotlight on reimbursement and how once-hidden practices of the largest PBMs (“the middlemen”) will start to lead to positive change. Americans are asking the right questions about who sets the cost of their medication and how it creates barriers for them to access the pharmacy of their choice, and I believe with some new, creative programs that we’ll be able to break away from the status quo. As a whole, we’re also seeing trends in how pharmacy services and medications can be delivered across channels. Whether in a store, drive-thru, delivery, or digitally, the consumer wants better access to health services when and where they need it.
Alice Chen, senior scholar, USC Schaeffer Center, and associate professor and vice dean for research, University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy
GLP-1s have changed treatment options for obesity. The increasing demand for GLP-1s and the potential public coverage of those drugs to treat specifically obesity has the potential to significantly change the prevalence of chronic conditions in the US and the health and societal costs of treating those conditions.
The Inflation Reduction Act also introduced incentives to reduce pharmaceutical prices, revenues, and copays. It’s unclear what the impact of this policy will be, but its potential impacts on pricing, drug development, and patient access should be studied and monitored.
Jeffrey Keefer, SVP of therapeutic strategy, Iqvia
As obesity rates rise worldwide, with the World Obesity Federation’s Global Obesity Observatory estimating that 1 billion adults will have obesity by 2030, the broader healthcare ecosystem of stakeholders, including pharmaceutical companies, clinical research organizations, and regulators, are looking to help rethink the prevention and treatment of obesity as a complex, heterogeneous, chronic multi-disease that is associated with many other health conditions.
Clinical trial sponsors are looking to reduce obesity rates through obesity clinical trial programs, but it is as critical to them to gauge how these novel treatments can positively impact a spectrum of related chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and sleep apnea.