Ferring Pharmaceuticals Secures Preferred Access for Orthopaedic & Gastroenterology Treatments Through CVS Health and Aetna Pharmacy Benefit
Parsippany, NJ – December 18, 2020 – Beginning January 1, 2021, Ferring Pharmaceuticals will gain preferred access through CVS Health and Aetna formularies for EUFLEXXA® (1% sodium hyaluronate) for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain and exclusive preferred access on three out of four formularies for CLENPIQ® (sodium picosulfate, magnesium oxide, and anhydrous citric acid) oral solution for cleansing of the colon as a preparation for colonoscopy. CVS Health is the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States, providing access to a network of more than 64,000 pharmacies and managing the drug benefits for more than 103 million plan members, including six million Aetna lives.
“Now more than ever, it’s critical for patients to have affordable access to the treatment options they need,” said Brent Ragans, President, Ferring Pharmaceuticals U.S. “We welcome this opportunity to broaden coverage for underserved patient communities and provide CVS Health and Aetna members with preferred access to EUFLEXXA and CLENPIQ in the U.S.”
EUFLEXXA, used to relieve knee pain due to osteoarthritis, will gain exclusive preferred access for 37 million people through CVS Health. With this new access, EUFLEXXA will be preferred by over 80% of lives managed by pharmacy benefit managers. CLENPIQ is a ready-to-drink bowel prep for cleansing the colon as a preparation for colonoscopy and will gain exclusive preferred access through the Standard, Advanced Control, and Value formularies. All other branded bowel preps will be excluded from coverage on these three formularies.
Patients and providers who are interested in learning more about each treatment option can visit EUFLEXXA.com and CLENPIQ.com for more information including savings offers.
EUFLEXXA indication
EUFLEXXA® [1% sodium hyaluronate] is indicated for the treatment of pain in osteoarthritis [OA] of the knee in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conservative nonpharmacologic therapy and simple analgesics [eg, acetaminophen].
Important Safety Information
EUFLEXXA is contraindicated in patients who have a known hypersensitivity to hyaluronate preparations or who have knee joint infections, infections, or skin disease in the area of the injection site.
EUFLEXXA should not be administered through a needle previously used with medical solutions containing benzalkonium chloride. Do not use skin disinfectants for skin preparation that contain quaternary ammonium salts.
Do not inject intravascularly due to potential for systemic adverse events.
The safety and effectiveness of injection in conjunction with other intra-articular injectables, or into joints other than the knee have not been studied. Remove any joint effusion prior to injecting. Transient pain or swelling of the injected joint may occur after intra-articular injection with EUFLEXXA.
The most common adverse events related to EUFLEXXA injections reported in 12- and 26-week clinical studies were arthralgia, back pain, pain in extremity, musculoskeletal pain, and joint swelling. In an open-label extension of the 26-week clinical study with repeat series of injections, the most common adverse events related to EUFLEXXA at Week 52 were arthralgia and joint swelling.
Please see here for full Prescribing Information for EUFLEXXA.
CLENPIQ indication
CLENPIQ® oral solution is indicated for cleansing of the colon as a preparation for colonoscopy in adults and pediatric patients ages 9 years and older.
Important Safety Information
- CLENPIQ is contraindicated in the following conditions: patients with severe reduced renal impairment (creatinine clearance less than 30mL/minute), gastrointestinal obstruction or ileus, bowel perforation, toxic colitis or toxic megacolon, gastric retention, or in patients with a known hypersensitivity to any of the ingredients in CLENPIQ.
- Patients should be advised to hydrate adequately (before, during and after use of CLENPIQ), and post-colonoscopy lab tests should be considered if a patient develops significant vomiting or signs of dehydration, including orthostatic hypotension, after taking CLENPIQ. Patients with electrolyte abnormalities should have them corrected before treatment. Use caution when prescribing CLENPIQ for patients that have conditions or are using medications that increase the risk for fluid and electrolyte disturbances.
- Use caution in patients who have conditions, or are taking concomitant medications that increase the risk for seizures, such as those taking medications that lower the seizure threshold, patients withdrawing from alcohol or benzodiazepines or patients with known or suspected hyponatremia.
- Use caution in patients with impaired renal function or taking medications that may affect renal function, as well as patients at increased risk of arrhythmias, including those patients with a history of prolonged QT, recent myocardial infarction, unstable angina, congestive heart failure, or cardiomyopathy.
- Osmotic laxatives may produce colonic mucosal aphthous ulcerations and there have been reports of more serious cases of ischemic colitis requiring hospitalization. Concurrent use of additional stimulant laxatives with CLENPIQ may increase this risk.
- Use with caution in patients with severe active ulcerative colitis.
- Patients with impaired gag reflex are at risk for regurgitation or aspiration during administration of CLENPIQ. Observe these patients during administration of CLENPIQ.
- The most common adverse reactions reported in a clinical trial with CLENPIQ for colon cleansing in adults were nausea, headache, hypermagnesemia, abdominal pain, and dehydration or dizziness. The most common adverse reactions reported in a clinical trial of another sodium picosulfate, magnesium oxide and anhydrous citric acid product for colon cleansing in pediatric patients aged 9 to 16 years were nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
- CLENPIQ can reduce the absorption of co-administered drugs. Do not take oral medications within one hour of starting CLENPIQ. Administer tetracycline and fluoroquinolone antibiotics, iron, digoxin, chlorpromazine and penicillamine, at least 2 hours before and not less than 6 hours after administration of CLENPIQ to avoid chelation with magnesium.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 800.FDA.1088.
Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information.
About Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven biopharmaceutical company devoted to identifying, developing and marketing innovative products in the fields of reproductive medicine, maternal health, urology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, oncology, and orthopaedics. For more information, call 1-888-FERRING (1-888-337-7464); visit www.FerringUSA.com
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For more information, please contact
Heather Guzzi
Director, Brand Communications
Communications & Digital Innovation
1-862-286-5254
Heather.Guzzi@ferring.com
US-EU-2000143 v3