Thursday, April 7, 2016

ADAP Directory & ADAP Formulary Database Link Stakeholders to Important Tools

By: Brandon M. Macsata, CEO, ADAP Advocacy Association

On March 15th (2016), an important resource was once again made available by the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD). NASTAD released its 2016 Online AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Formulary Database and accompanying User’s Guide. The Database complements the patient-centric ADAP Directory, which is the ADAP Advocacy Association's flagship program.

NASTAD describes the provider-focused Database as "an online, searchable, publicly available resource detailing state-by-state ADAP coverage of medications both individually and by drug class including HIV antiretroviral (ARV) treatments, “A1” Opportunistic Infections (A1 OI) medications, treatments for hepatitis B and C, mental health and substance use treatment medications, and various vaccines and laboratory tests."[1]

Key findings from the 2016 ADAP Formulary Database include:[2]
  • 3 ADAPs have “open formularies” in which all FDA-approved medications are included, excluding designated exceptions
  • 38 ADAPs cover one or more hepatitis B treatment medication
  • 33 ADAPs cover one or more hepatitis C treatment medication
  • 19 ADAPs cover one or more of the curative direct acting antiviral (DAA) hepatitis C (HCV) treatment medications
  • 9 cover daclatasvir (Daklinza)
  • 17 cover dasabuvir, ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir (Viekira Pak)
  • 19 cover ledipasvir and sofosbuvir (Harvoni)
  • 8 cover ombitasvir, paritaprevir and ritonavir (Technivie)
  • 12 cover simeprevir (Olysio)
  • 17 cover sofosbuvir (Sovaldi)
  • 43 ADAPs cover one or more of the most frequently prescribed mental health treatment medications
  • 14 ADAPs cover one or more substance use treatment medication 
The ADAP Directory – launched in 2014 with ongoing support from AbbVie, Gilead Sciences, Janssen Therapeutics, Merck, ViiV Healthcare, and Walgreens – ensures that people living with HIV-infection have access to the information and resources they need to live healthy and productive lives. The ADAP Directory consolidates useful ADAP-related information from all 50 states and 6 territories into one convenient location for:

  • easy access to ADAP resources organized by state and territory;
  • updated, current information for all 56 state ADAPs -- including drug formularies; and
  • uniform presentation of ADAP information for effective advocacy and easy dissemination.
The “Perfect Storm” that had ravaged the cash-strapped ADAPs between 2008-2010 exposed some very real deficiencies in the amount and quality of information made readily available to patients living with HIV/AIDS. Today, patients...and in fact, all community stakeholders...have much more user-friendly information at their disposal.

Aside from the interactive map, which allows users to navigate all 56 ADAPs, other important resources and tools are available at the ADAP Directory. Among them, patient medication assistance programs and pharmaceutical patient assistance programs.

Chart displaying various patient assistance programs.

Chart displaying pharmaceutical patient assistance programs.

To learn more about the ADAP Directory, visit http://adap.directory. To learn more about the NASTAD Formulary Database, visit https://www.nastad.org/sites/default/files/2016-ADAP-Formulary-Database-Users-Guide.pdf.
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[1] National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), "Update: 2016 ADAP Formulary Database," March 16, 2016.
[2] National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), "Update: 2016 ADAP Formulary Database," March 16, 2016.

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