By WSU Applebaum Student Pharmacist Joseph Paul Javier

In its second year as a registered student organization at Wayne State's Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) has had many successes since its inception. From growing its membership among PharmD students exploring the field of managed care to placing second in last year's prestigious AMCP National Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Competition, Wayne State's AMCP chapter hit another milestone with the conclusion of its first-ever Local P&T Competition.

"Four teams signed up for the local competition with three teams making it to the final round of the contest," said Joseph Paul Javier, president of WSU AMCP. "Formulary management is an integrated patient care process that enables physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals to work together to promote clinically sound, cost-effective medication therapy and positive therapeutic outcomes. By participating in our Local P&T Competition, our chapter members have gained experience in gathering and critically analyzing scientific, clinical and economic evidence in a systematic and rigorous fashion, while also honing written and oral communication skills that are increasingly important in today's health care environment. Our chapter is thankful to our local competition advisors and judges. Together with our WSU P&T committee, this milestone would not be possible and we look forward to sending our winning team to the 2022 AMCP National P&T Competition to represent Wayne State University."

Pharmacists working on P&T committees understand how to evaluate the best available scientific, clinical and economic evidence on medication use. They also determine the impact of medication use on patient population outcomes, conduct cost/benefit analyses, and relate drug therapy choices to current practice guidelines. WSU's AMCP chapter has spent the last semester offering meetings and seminars to teach students about managed care, possible career pathways in this dynamic industry, and to prepare them for the P&T competition.

"I joined AMCP to learn more about Managed Care and what it offers with regards to long-term pharmacy career," said AMCP President-Elect Jackie Fleury. "I am employed with PHP where I assist with research for P&T committees and legal research with regard to formulary changes and suggestions. Our Local P&T Competition has been a great way for our chapter members to gain an immersive experience in the skills necessary for effective formulary review and management."

Leading up to WSU's Local P&T Competition, AMCP Immediate Past-President Fadi Manuel led his team in producing two seminars to help give insight to the P&T process and skills needed for the competition. The first seminar focused on monograph creation and was facilitated by Dr. Shivan Patel of Sanofi, a WSU Applebaum alumnus, while the second seminar served as an introduction to pharmacoeconomics, facilitated by Dr. Daniel Simmons of AstraZeneca.

"AMCP has given me the opportunity to learn more about non-traditional routes of the pharmacy. I am especially interested in managed care and am glad to help my schoolmates learn about this field," said WSU's Local P&T Initiative Chairperson Nataliya Sorochak. "While preparing for the Local P&T Competition, our team educated our AMCP chapter on the primary responsibilities of the pharmacists in managed care."

"I am trying to expand my options after pharmacy school in the pharmaceutical industry. Working on our Local P&T competition committee has been a fun and educational experience. I've learned so much from our AMCP mentors," said Ronith Murali, who is the competition's Initiative Co-chair.

While the winning AMCP team from WSU Local P&T Competition has already been chosen, the identities of the teammates will remain secret until the commencement of the 22nd Annual AMCP National Pharmacy & Therapeutics Competition later this semester. The study drug for the 2022 P&T Competition is PONVORY® (ponesimod) once-daily tablets. Ponvory is a sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator indicated for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults, including clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease and active secondary progressive disease.