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Tildrakizumab-asmn (Ilumya® ) Notification

Commercial Drug Policy
Version Date: October 2021

Restricted Product(s):

  • Tildrakizumab-asmn (Ilumya® ) subcutaneous injection for administration by a healthcare professional

FDA Approved Use:

  • For adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy

Criteria for Medical Necessity:

The restricted product(s) may be considered medically necessary when the following criteria are met:

  1. The patient has a diagnosis of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (PS); AND 
    1. The patient is 18 years of age or older; AND
    2. The patient has tried and had an inadequate response to ONE conventional agent (i.e., acitretin, anthralin, calcipotriene, calcitriol, coal tar products, cyclosporine, methotrexate, pimecrolimus, PUVA [phototherapy], tacrolimus, tazarotene, topical corticosteroids) used in the treatment of PS for at least 3-months [medical record documentation required]; OR
    3. The patient has an intolerance, FDA labeled contraindication, or hypersensitivity to ALL conventional agents used in the treatment of PS [medical record documentation required]; OR
    4. The patient has severe active PS (e.g., greater than 10% body surface area involvement, occurring on select locations [i.e., hands, feet, scalp, face, or genitals], intractable pruritus, serious emotional consequences) [medical record documentation required]; OR
    5. The patient has concomitant severe psoriatic arthritis (PsA) (e.g., erosive disease, elevated markers of inflammation [e.g., ESR, CRP] attributable to PsA, long-term damage that interferes with function [i.e., joint deformities], rapidly progressive) [medical record documentation required]; AND
  2. The prescriber is a specialist in the area of the patient’s diagnosis (e.g., dermatologist for PS) or has consulted with a specialist in the area of the patient’s diagnosis; AND
  3. The patient will NOT be using tildrakizumab-asmn (Ilumya® ) in combination with another biologic immunomodulator agent or Otezla; AND
  4. The patient does NOT have any FDA labeled contraindications to tildrakizumab-asmn (Ilumya® ); AND
  5. The patient has been tested for latent tuberculosis (TB) when required by the prescribing information for the requested agent AND if positive the patient has begun therapy for latent TB; AND
  6. The requested quantity does NOT exceed the maximum units allowed for the duration of approval (see table below); AND
  7. For requests for injection or infusion administration of the requested medication in an inpatient or outpatient hospital setting, Site of Care Criteria applies (outlined below)

Duration of Approval: 365 days (1 year)

FDA Label Reference  :

MedicationIndicationDosingHCPCSMaximum Units Allowed for Duration of Approval
Tildrakizumab-asmn (Ilumya® ) subcutaneous (SC) injectionPS in patients ≥18 years old SC: 100 mg at weeks 0 and 4, then every 12 weeks thereafterJ3245600

Site of Care Medical Necessity Criteria :

  1. For requests for injection or infusion administration in an inpatient setting, the injection or infusion may be given if the above medical necessity criteria are met AND the inpatient admission is NOT for the sole purpose of administering the injection or infusion; OR
  2. For requests for injection or infusion administration in an outpatient hospital setting, the injection or infusion may be given if the above medical necessity criteria are met AND ONE of the following must be met:
    1. History of mild adverse events that have not been successfully managed through mild pre-medication (e.g., diphenhydramine, acetaminophen, steroids, fluids, etc.); OR
    2. Inability to physically and cognitively adhere to the treatment schedule and regimen complexity; OR
    3. New to therapy, defined as initial injection or infusion OR less than 3 months since initial injection or infusion; OR
    4. Re-initiation of therapy, defined as ONE of the following:
      1. First injection or infusion after 6 months of no injections or infusions for drugs with an approved dosing interval less than 6 months duration; OR
      2. First injection or infusion after at least a 1-month gap in therapy outside of the approved dosing interval for drugs requiring every 6 months dosing duration; OR
    5. Requirement of a change in the requested restricted product formulation; AND
  3. If the Site of Care Medical Necessity Criteria in #1 or #2 above are not met, the injection or infusion will be administered in a home-based infusion or physician office setting with or without supervision by a certified healthcare professional. 

References:

All information referenced is from FDA package insert unless otherwise noted below.

  1. Menter A, Strober BE, Kaplan DH, et al. Joint American Academy of Dermatology-National Psoriasis Foundation guidelines of care for the management and treatment of psoriasis with biologics. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2019;80(4):1029-1072.
  2. Reich K, Papp KA, Blauvelt A, et al. Tildrakizumab versus placebo or etanercept for chronic plaque psoriasis (resurface 1 and resurface 2): results from two randomized controlled, phase 3 trials. Lancet. 2017;390(10091):276-288. 

Policy Implementation/Update Information:

October 2021: Criteria change: Added Site of Care medical necessity criteria. Policy notification given 8/2/2021 for effective date 10/1/2021.

August 2021: Criteria change: Removed criterion point regarding medication history indicating use of another biologic immunomodulator agent FDA labeled for the treatment of the same condition. Policy notification given 6/1/2021 for effective date 8/1/2021.

June 2021: Criteria change: Medical record documentation required for all indications.

April 2021: Criteria change: Addition of criteria for history of use of another biologic immunomodulator agent (or Otezla) for the same indication; PS: BSA requirement changed to 10%, added option for concomitant severe PsA; added requirement that patient has no FDA labeled contraindications, and for TB testing; added maximum units; medical policy formatting change. Policy notification given 2/26/2021 for effective date 4/28/2021.

Further historical criteria changes and updates available upon request from Medical Policy and/or Corporate Pharmacy.