WHEELING, W.Va., May 14 — Drug giant Pfizer said unemployed people who have been taking its branded products could receive them free for up to a year in a new program — with some exceptions.

The program, called MAINTAIN, will provide access to more than 70 Pfizer drugs including atorvastatin (Lipitor), celecoxib (Celebrex), pregabalin (Lyrica), and sildenafil (Viagra).

But the program excludes biologics, most cancer drugs, and other of Pfizer’s most expensive products.

Individuals who became unemployed after Jan. 1 of this year are eligible for the program and may sign up through Dec. 31.

Other eligibility requirements include having taken the branded Pfizer drug for at least three months prior to losing a job, having no other prescription drug coverage, and being able to attest to financial hardship.

Income prior to becoming unemployed is not a factor, Pfizer said. But participants who regain employment or prescription drug coverage will have to start paying again.

A stock analyst quoted by the Associated Press pointed out that the program is likely to prevent some current Pfizer drug customers from switching to generic equivalents.

The company said it was taking signups today, although the program would not be fully operational until July 1.

Pfizer said signups and additional information on the MAINTAIN program would be available at Pfizer Helpful Answers or by calling 866-706-2400 toll-free.

Related source:

Pfizer announcement

LITTLE FALLS, N.J., May 14 — Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia) has been approved by the FDA for adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, UCB, the maker of the drug, announced.

The tumor necrosis factor blocker can be used in combination with methotrexate or as monotherapy, the company said.

The new indication adds to the approval last year for use in patients with Crohn’s disease who do not respond to conventional therapy. (See FDA Okays Certolizumab Pegol (Cimzia) for Refractory Crohn’s)

The approval was made on the basis of four multicenter phase III studies that included more than 2,300 patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

In the studies, when certolizumab pegol was given with methotrexate, patients demonstrated sustained improvements in the signs and symptoms of the disease, physical function, and pain through 24 weeks.

Some of the effects were seen as early as one week into treatment, according to UCB.

Certolizumab pegol plus methotrexate also inhibited the progression of joint damage compared with methotrexate alone (P<0.001).

Monotherapy with certolizumab pegol significantly improved the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, physical function, and pain.

Serious adverse reactions in the clinical trials included infections such as tuberculosis and cancers such as lymphoma.

The most common adverse events were upper respiratory tract infections, rash, urinary tract infections, headache, hypertension, nasopharyngitis, back pain, pyrexia, pharyngitis, acute bronchitis, and fatigue.

Overall, 5% of participants discontinued treatment because of adverse events.

The label for the drug contains a boxed warning of tuberculosis, invasive fungal, and other opportunistic infections sometimes resulting in death.

It instructs physicians to perform a latent TB test before starting a patient on the drug. If the test is positive, tuberculosis treatment should be started before certolizumab pegol. Treatment should be discontinued if the patient develops serious infection or sepsis, according to the label.

The drug is initially administered by three 400-mg subcutaneous injections spaced two weeks apart, with maintenance injections of 200 mg every other week. Maintenance injections of 400 mg every four weeks may be considered, according to UCB.

Related Article(s):

• FDA Okays Certolizumab Pegol (Cimzia) for Refractory Crohn’s
• EULAR: Rheumatoid Arthritis Response Quicker to Certolizumab
• ACR: Fab Fragment of Antibody Against TNFa Enhances Methotrexate for RA
  
• FDA Demands Stronger Fungal Infection Warnings on TNF Blockers

An unidentified trade group representing independent pharmacies on Wednesday plans to send to Federal Trade Commission Chair Jon Leibowitz a series of letters from pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark that indicate the PBM charges higher copayment rates for some of its members who opt to fill their prescriptions at pharmacies other than CVS, the Wall Street Journal reports. The letters, which were obtained and reviewed by the Journal, were sent by CVS Caremark to its members as recently as February.

According to the Journal, the patients were enrolled in CVS’ “Maintenance Choice” program, which allows them to fill 90-day prescriptions through the company’s mail-order pharmacy or pick them up directly from a drugstore at no additional cost. The Journal reports that some of the letters indicated that copays for patients who filled prescriptions at non-CVS pharmacies would increase to 50% of the price on their prescriptions, instead of the 25% of the cost of the drugs they would be charged at a CVS pharmacy.

Another letter sent to a beneficiary stated that “no additional fills of your prescriptions will be covered” at a non-CVS pharmacy, despite the treatment being covered under the patient’s plan. A third letter obtained by the Journal explained that when the Medicare patient in January filled a prescription for a 30-day supply of a generic cholesterol drug at a non-CVS pharmacy, Medicare did not pay anything while the beneficiary paid $4.70. However, when the patient filled a 90-day supply of the same drug at a CVS pharmacy in March, Medicare had to pay $165.99 while the patient made a $15 copay.

According to the Journal, some independent pharmacies raised concerns in 2007 when FTC approved the merger between CVS and Caremark that the $27 billion deal would have a negative impact on their business. The Journal reports that independent pharmacists say that prior to the merger, CVS vowed not to discriminate against them.

CVS in a statement said, “In general it is not uncommon to have some variation in pharmacy-reimbursement rates and prescription prices within retail pharmacy networks administered by PBMs.” The company added that its Maintenance Choice program is “consumer friendly,” but did not explicitly address the letters or the claims made by the independent pharmacists, the Journal reports (Martinez/Armstrong, Wall Street Journal, 5/13).

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