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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Henry Niman who wrote (17299)	3/12/1998 10:17:00 AM
From: TomOrt	Respond to of 32384

from W.S.J. today: "OFF-LABEL" DRUG USE raises a cost flag for managed-care companies. Doctors can prescribe FDA-approved drugs for treatments other than the approved ones (so-called "off-label" uses) and drug firms can benefit from such use since it raises sales. How much of the cost will insurers bear? "It's going to become a big deal," says Hemant Shah, an analyst in Warren, N.J. He notes that expense isn't such a big issue on common drugs like antibiotics, but could be with fancier drugs that can cost $1,000 or more to use. A new task force at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in Chicago, aimed at better management of drug costs in its 55 member plans, will study off-label use, drug therapy in lieu of hospital stays, and new consumer demand for specific drugs. "We're looking more aggressively at how this shapes up," says Maureen Sullivan, a Blue Cross executive. The "high-level SWAT team" will report its findings to Blue Cross directors in a few months. About 22 states have laws requiring insurers to cover unapproved uses, says consultancy Scott-Levin in Newtown, Pa.