At Asembia’s AXS26 Summit, specialty pharmacy leaders convened to understand challenges, generate solutions and help define what’s next for prescription access and patient care. Prime Therapeutics (Prime)’s presence reflected that focus, spotlighting how the industry can make specialty care easier to navigate by pairing advanced technology (including artificial intelligence [AI]-enabled tools) with practical operating models that improve affordability, speed of treatment, and care coordination for patients, providers and payers.  

 

Digital navigation: Bringing clarity to a complex journey  

George Van Antwerp, senior vice president, product innovation and strategic planning at Prime, led a panel discussion on “The future of digital navigation for specialty pharmacy,” with Michael Einodshofer, RPh, MBA, chief growth officer for Free Market Health and Jonalan Smith, PharmD, FASCP, chief pharmacy officer for EmblemHealth. Van Antwerp opened by framing the stakes: Specialty drug management is becoming more complex as costs rise, regulatory pressure increases and the experience remains fragmented — driving payer demand for more visibility, configurability and solutions that evolve as the market changes.  

He also described what “digital navigation” means in human terms: Once a patient is diagnosed, they face immediate questions about where to fill a prescription, what it will cost, whether a pharmacy is in network and how to track steps like prior authorization. A digital navigator can help patients understand benefits, minimize out-of-pocket cost where possible and guide them to the best pharmacy option for their needs, reducing unnecessary delays. He also outlined a future-state “digital advocate” concept: a digital-first front door at the moment of prescribing that uses clear logic to match patients to the right pharmacy and supports them across prior authorization, refill and renewal. 

“Our focus is practical: simplify what’s complex across prior authorization, pharmacy selection and ongoing support so plans gain visibility and patients experience a smoother path to therapy,” Van Antwerp said.  

Beyond exclusive specialty models: Expanding access while improving coordination 

Linsey Krueger reinforced that same “clarity and coordination” theme in Prime’s product theater session, “Beyond exclusive specialty pharmacy models: Modern strategies for specialty drug management,” co-presented with Joe Cardosi, PharmD, MBA, founder and CEO of Free Market Health. Krueger highlighted why payers are reassessing traditional exclusive approaches: Rising specialty costs, increasing regulatory pressure and a fragmented patient and provider experience are fueling demand for more configurable, technology-enabled models.  

She shared how Prime’s Advocate+™ Pharmacy Match is designed to expand access to a broader specialty pharmacy network and streamline the patient experience by connecting patients to a capable specialty pharmacy based on cost and care, creating optionality for payers beyond a single default route. Linsey also pointed to early indicators of impact at scale: 165,000+ unique patient drugs supported and more than $12 million savings in the first three months for a large plan.  

“As specialty therapies grow more complex, payers need more specialty model options tailored to their patients’ unique needs,” Krueger said. “For payers who prioritize expanded access paired with strong coordination, these options provide flexibility in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.” 

Together, the sessions demonstrated Prime’s leadership in combining modern specialty models with advanced technology to reduce friction, improve access and deliver measurable value, while keeping patient experience at the center and underscoring Prime’s independent, patient-centered pharmacy selection strategy. 

Keep following Prime’s work to simplify the specialty journey through modern technology and practical innovation on PrimeTherapeutics.com/Read.