Rostraver man named chair of board for national pharmacy organization

A Rostraver man will head the board of a national specialty pharmacy organization focused on elevating patient care and creating a fair and competitive business environment.

Michael Einodshofer, 46, was named chairman of the board for the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that’s focused on specialty drugs, or drugs often used to treat serious diseases. Only about 1% of patients take the drugs, but they cost almost 300 times more than generics, Einodshofer said.

“It’s an honor to be asked,” Einodshofer said. “The board’s comprised of a lot of the leaders across many industries so it was an honor to be elected by them and, of course, very exciting because health care is changing so quickly.”

As chairman, Einodshofer will run a board of 30 members and also oversee weekly executive meetings consisting of six members. The board of directors as well as NASP staff work to uphold the organization’s goals of improving pharmacy practice, promoting patient care and advancing fair legislative and regulatory policies.

The organization is made up of 130 corporate members and 1,800 individual members representing the specialty pharmacy industry, “really banding together so that patient care is elevated through proper pharmacy practice standards and there’s a fair and competitive business environment for businesses serving those patients to succeed,” Einodshofer said.

Prescription drug prices have made headlines recently after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month to lower prescription drug prices. Last year, Trump signed an order that could allow some drugs, such as insulin, to be imported from Canada, The New York Times reported.

Einodshofer noted the average American is likely paying less for prescription drugs today than they did in the past five to 10 years. Average generic drugs cost less than $20. The problem, Einodshofer said, is that specialty drugs cost around $5,000, but can go as high as $20,000 per prescription.

“You have some very real, serious situations of patients not being able to afford their medication for the expensive therapies largely because they have higher deductibles than they used to have and patients simply can’t afford 20% or 100% of a $5,000 drug,” he said. “It’s just not doable. That’s what the real problem is.

“The conversation needs to be a bit more articulate around how the whole system works and not single out high drug prices as the problem. It’s part of a much larger problem.”

Einodshofer graduated from the University of Pittsburgh’s pharmacy and business school, starting his career in retail pharmacy. He spent six years as pharmacy director at UPMC Health Plan and then worked another six years running Walgreen’s Specialty Pharmacy. He spent the past six years at Maxor National Pharmacy Services, a Texas-based company aimed at improving the pharmacy industry. The company has locations all over the country, including Pittsburgh.

There, he led product and service innovation for the company’s business units and worked on the mobile engagement platform.

“Michael is recognized nationally as one of the premier thought leaders in the specialty industry,” Mike Ellis, CEO of Maxor said in a news release. “His leadership has helped transform Maxor’s technology, analytics, clinical programs and the overall patient experience. I look forward to the significant contributions Michael will undoubtedly have as chairman.”

Einodshofer will hold his chairman position for two years.