Formulary exclusions, non-medical switching jeopardize disease control, patient trust

Starting Jan. 1, 2021, patients with inflammatory conditions who are part of the Express Scripts formulary will be forced to switch from the IL-17 inhibitor secukinumab to ixekizumab — whether they or their doctor condone this change or not.The exclusion of secukinumab (Cosentyx, Novartis) in favor of ixekizumab (Taltz, Eli Lilly & Co.) is just one of more than 300 excluded drugs on the Express Script formulary. The 2021 formulary change also excludes an additional 14 specialty drugs for the treatment cardiovascular conditions, type 2 diabetes and pulmonary conditions, and moves 11Read More