It’s a marriage of self interests among Pharma and Big Insurance. Merck and Cigna just announced a partnership which involves the applications of drug discounts from the pharma company as a benefit to the healthcare payer if patients “perform” well on those covered drugs.

What are those drugs? Two key players in the next generation of agents Merck is positioning for heavy market growth and consumer use — Januvia and Janumet, both of which contain the main chemical ingredient, sitagliptin. Merck is not requiring that those drugs be solely repsonsible for good diabetes control in patients on other anti-diabetic drugs, of course; but the designation of Januvia and Janumet as “perferred agents” in the Cigna formulary makes this sort of surveillance a little easier — which is why the insurer is in talks with three other drug classes. | LINK

Related Posts Within Doctor Pundit:

1. Pharma Company Debuts New Schizophrenia Drug Amid High Stakes Reform Debate If you’re a pharma company that thrives on innovation (and,...
2. Pharma Company Stands Behind Drug in Face of Potential Negative Sales Impact from Latest Study How can a drug’s study results involving just over 200...
3. Report: Pharma Company Covered Up Known Cardiovascular Risks of Drug GSK (then known as SmithKline Beecham) knew in a 1999...
4. White House on Side of Pharma in Lawsuit Concerning Drug Prices Are there pharmaceutical companies that are accused of overcharging public...
5. Pharma Company to Pay Over $900M from Vioxx Marketing Practices The DOJ decision has been handed down. Merck Co. will...