New oral medications for acute migraine — one pending launch and two more that could be approved in the coming months — likely won’t shake up formulary coverage for a condition that’s largely treated by generic triptan medications, pharmacy benefit experts say.

FDA approval of Biogen Inc. and Alkermes’ Vumerity (diroximel fumarate) on Oct. 30 made it the third oral disease-modifying therapy (DMT) cleared this year to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common type. Biogen will sell the follow-on to its MS franchise leader Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) at an annual wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of $88,000 before rebates — the lowest of any oral DMT in the U.S., the company says. Still, with prices rising yearly at rates 5 to 7 times higher than prescription drug inflation, according to a study published in Neurology, DMTs remain one of the highest-spend drug classes for payers.

Highmark recently said its outcomes-based contract (OBC) with AstraZeneca showed positive results for its commercial members with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) taking Symbicort — to the point where the drug manufacturer didn’t have to pay back a rebate to the insurer. Indeed, Highmark is looking at broadening the scope and is currently in discussions with AstraZeneca about “potential future opportunities” in the respiratory space, “possibly beyond Symbicort,” Highmark’s pharma relations head tells AIS Health.

As the spotlight continues to focus on drug prices and companies’ pricing strategies, an industry watchdog group has published the first of many planned reports on the topics. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) released the inaugural edition of the series recently, offering fodder to critics of the pharmaceutical industry. But others question the findings. Still, the report should give some momentum to the various drug pricing efforts, industry experts tell AIS Health.