Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | Access and Reimbursement | US | 2018

The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) market is experiencing increased competition as newer combination therapies vie with long-marketed stalwarts Spiriva, Advair, and Symbicort. Current treatment includes several distinct drug classes with emerging therapies in the pipeline. Because of the age of patients with COPD, market access is driven by Medicare-related payers such as Medicare Advantage and Part D plans that leverage competition to extract rebates from industry in exchange for preferred coverage. By 2021, additional therapies for COPD will increase options and competition, but generic erosion of blockbuster agents will influence reimbursement decisions.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

• What actions can marketers of COPD therapies take to succeed in terms of market access and thus increase overall sales? How do physicians, payers, patients, and industry interact to influence treatment decisions?
• What factors, including those tied to market access, influence physician prescribing of select COPD therapies, and what therapies are succeeding and stumbling based on these factors?
• How do Medicare Advantage payers reimburse and restrict access to select COPD therapies, and what factors are driving their reimbursement decisions? How are pharmacoeconomic models being used in reimbursement decisions for COPD therapies and what is the impact on industry?
• What factors will have the most sway in determining the success of emerging therapies like revefancin and glycopyrrolate? How do payers intend to reimburse emerging agents, and how will those decisions affect prescribing?