1. Patrick Kurunwune, PharmD Candidate Cone Health Family Medicine
News You Can Use…
Patrick Kurunwune, PharmD Candidate
Alyson Leonard, PharmD
Pete Koval, PharmD
Cone Health Family Medicine
April, 2017

2. FDA Approval Qtern® (dapagliflozin and saxagliptin)
The first FDA approved DPP-4 inhibitor and SGLT-2 inhibitor combination
Formulation /Dosing
Tablet: 10 mg dapagliflozin/5 mg saxagliptin
FDA approved 2/28/2017 however, no availability date at this time

3. FDA Approval Emflaza® (deflazacourt) Formulation/Dosing Pricing
Corticosteroid indicated for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in patients 5 years of age and older
Formulation/Dosing
Tablets: 6mg, 18mg, 30mg, and 36mg
Oral Suspension: mg/mL
Pricing
$89,000

4. FDA Approval Dupixent® (dupilumab) Formulation/ Dosing Pricing
injection to treat adults with moderate-to- severe eczema
Class: Interleukin-4 Receptor Antagonist; Monoclonal Antibody
Formulation/ Dosing
Injection: 300 mg/2 mL
Pricing
$37,000

5. FDA Approval Ocrevus® (ocrelizumab) Formulation/Dosing Pricing
First drug approved by the FDA for primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS)
Class: Monoclonal Antibody
Formulation/Dosing
Injection: 300 mg/10 mL (30 mg/mL) in a single-dose vial
Pricing
$65,000 per year (2 shots per year)

6. Viberzi: FDA Drug Safety
Viberzi® (eluxadoline)
For the treatment of IBS
FDA Drug Safety Alert
Do NOT prescribe Viberzi (eluxadoline) in patients who do not have a gallbladder
FDA review found these patients have an increased risk of developing serious pancreatitis that could result in hospitalization or death

7. Basaglar® – Insulin Glargine
Biosimilar Insulin Glargine AKA “Lantus®”
Now available in the market place!
Dose conversion – Direct 1:1
Consider when insurance dictates
At this time insurance coverage is in transition
Expect plans to consider this as price appears to be competitive
$330 vs $ 380 (Lantus Solostar) for 5 pens
Pricing from GoodRx.com - Accessed 4/3/2017

8. Biosimilar Coming Soon!
Currently about 30 “biologic specialty drugs” pending approvals at the FDA
73 biologic patent expirations by 2021
Biologic “biosimilars” serve as competing brands
Biosimilar Naming (FDA 1/17)
Named by their reference biologics’ generic names plus a four-letter suffix, such as “filgrastim-sndz” for Sandoz’s biosimilar