Humana Inc. and biotech Amgen have announced a partnership to identify opportunities to improve health outcomes and improve efficiency by unlocking new insights from the real world health care experiences of Humana's 13 million members.
Six projects are currently underway or planned, with more expected over the term of the agreement. The goal is the same across all projects: deliver increased value to patients and the health care system by focusing on working to improve quality and outcomes in the context of total health care costs.
The collaboration will initially target serious conditions, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, neurologic disorders, inflammatory diseases and cancer. Researchers will combine available sources of real world evidence (RWE) with data from wearable technology, digital apps and Bluetooth-enabled drug delivery devices. Prospective observational studies are also planned.
Planned research will identify patients whose serious medical conditions are likely to result in an adverse patient outcome, which may lead to development of algorithms that can predict risk and drive to early intervention. The partnership will also dive deeply into specific therapeutic areas, from defining the burden of osteoporatic fractures to understanding the impact of wearable technology on medication adherence for inflammatory diseases.
"The rising cost of disease is challenging the sustainability of our health care system in the U.S., and is motivating innovators to urgently develop new therapeutic options and partner on opportunities to improve the quality and efficiency of care and reduce financial burden to the system," said Joshua Ofman, M.D., M.S.H.S., senior vice president of Global Value, Access & Policy at Amgen. "It is our hope that this collaboration with Humana, a first of its kind for Amgen, will cultivate value-based, integrated approaches to care that will focus on patients and benefit the healthcare system more broadly."