McKesson's oncology pharmacy to provide KISQALI

Biologics Inc., an oncology pharmacy services company owned by McKesson Specialty Health, was selected by Novartis to be a specialty pharmacy provider for KISQALI (ribociclib).
“We are excited to be part of this important launch and to add KISQALI to our extensive portfolio of breast cancer therapies,”  Brandon Tom, vice president for Biopharma Services for McKesson Specialty Health, said in a statement. “We look forward to helping breast cancer patients access this new treatment option through our high-touch, patient-centric care model.”
KISQALI was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 13; the product was made to treat postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. It involves a kinase inhibitor indicated in combination with an aromatase inhibitor.
“It’s always encouraging when new treatments become available for patients,” Dr. Joyce O’Shaughnessy, senior author of the MONALESSA-2 clinical trial and medical oncologist with Texas Oncology, said. “Extending a patient’s progression-free survival is motivating, and I look forward to continued progress in this area.”
 Invasive breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women outside of skin cancer; in 2017, more than 250,000 new cases are expected to be diagnosed.