Pittsburgh-based UPMC Health Plan and Biogen entered into a value-based agreement for two of the drugmaker's multiple sclerosis treatments.
Under the agreement, the reimbursement Biogen provides to UPMC Health will be linked to MS patient-reported progression of disability. Previous value-based contracts connected payments to things such as emergency department visits, hospitalizations and relapse rates.
The two companies decided on the arrangement after a UPMC study showed that patients, providers, pharmaceutical representatives and others ranked physical disability as one of the most meaningful outcomes of MS.
The agreement involves Biogen's drugs Tecfidera and Avonex, both used to treat patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.
Read the full news release here.