Joint initiative demonstrates how risk-based, value-based partnerships can convert a well-established clinical practice into meaningful, scaled savings across a shared patient population.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., -- October 15, 2026 -- Thyme Care, the nationally recognized oncology company, and Texas Oncology, the nation’s leading cancer care organization, today announced new data showing that weight-based dosing of pembrolizumab, delivered under a value-based care agreement, meaningfully reduced cost of care for their shared Medicare Advantage population. Findings will be presented as a poster at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Care Symposium, October 16th through 17th, 2026, under the Cost, Value, and Policy track.
Pembrolizumab, sold as Keytruda, accounts for a meaningful percentage of total cancer care spending in the United States. An incredibly effective drug, it is used to treat dozens of cancer types across both curative and non-curative treatment settings, extending life and improving quality of life. It is typically given at a fixed dose, though extensive evidence shows it can be dosed by patient weight instead, with no impact on efficacy.
In fee-for-service oncology, the payment structure often disincentivizes decisions that can reduce drug spend in a clinically appropriate way. As a result, weight-based dosing has, to date, generally been adopted only within CMMI-sponsored value-based care arrangements like the Enhancing Oncology Model. This collaboration shows the same model working outside CMMI programs. Under Thyme Care's risk-based agreements with health plans, payment is tied to outcomes and total cost of care, so the plan and the practice are working toward the same patient centric goal. That alignment lets Texas Oncology act on the evidence without taking on financial risk to do so, and makes weight-based dosing possible at scale across this population.
"Texas Oncology has long been a leader in bringing innovative, evidence-based care to our patients. Thyme Care made the economics work for our practice, enabling our clinical pharmacy team to scale this work across our broader patient population,” said Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, FASCO, Executive Vice President, Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Texas Oncology. “This is what true value-based care looks like, and we're proud of what this partnership has accomplished.".
Texas Oncology had already explored weight-based dosing within the Enhancing Oncology Model and the approach garnered success. Under Thyme Care’s risk-based contracts, extending that approach across a broader, shared population required new workflows and bidirectional data sharing. Thyme Care created a technology-enabled pembrolizumab weight-based dosing program that identified eligible patients earlier using payer claims and prior authorization data, enabled two-way data exchange to identify stalled conversion opportunities, tracked results across multiple payer contracts, and routed every eligible patient through clinical pharmacist review, in partnership with the treating oncologist, before conversion.
The analysis, conducted between September 2025 and April 2026, shows that across 613 pembrolizumab administrations, 55% were eligible for weight-based dosing based on patient weight, and 34% of those were successfully converted. By the final two months of that window, adherence consistently exceeded 45%. In total, the intervention reduced pembrolizumab utilization and lowered cost of care by more than $723,000, a 7.3% reduction against projected costs under standard dosing.
"For decades we've talked about the cost of cancer drugs, and quite honestly few of the proposed solutions have been operationalized at a meaningful scale. Weight-based dosing is a good example. The evidence has been there, but it rarely happened outside of CMS models because the incentive model to do it didn't exist,” Bobby Green, MD, co-founder, president, and chief medical officer at Thyme Care. ”Our team at Thyme Care built it, and I'm grateful to them and to the Texas Oncology physicians and pharmacists who worked through it with us. We acted on the evidence and saw real savings. This is the kind of work we need to bring to the rising cost of treating cancer."
The partnership continued to deliver results well beyond the original analysis window, reaching nearly 60% by June 2026. As the oncology treatment landscape continues to evolve, most recently with the introduction of a subcutaneous formulation of pembrolizumab, Thyme Care and Texas Oncology are using that same approach to identify the next set of high value interventions that could meaningfully reduce drug spend.
About Thyme Care
Thyme Care aligns accountability across the cancer care journey, coordinating patients, providers, and health plans around a shared model of care that drives better outcomes and lower costs for everyone. Through dedicated care teams and technology, Thyme Care integrates directly into existing workflows to support patients longitudinally, close gaps between visits, and align clinical decisions with financial accountability. To learn more, visit thymecare.com.
About Texas Oncology
With more than 550 physicians and 300 locations, Texas Oncology is an independent private practice that cares for more than 250,000 unique cancer patients each year. Founded in 1986, Texas Oncology provides comprehensive, multi-disciplinary care, and includes Texas Center for Proton Therapy, Texas Breast Specialists, Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists, Texas Oncology Surgical Specialists, Texas Urology Specialists, and Texas Infusion and Imaging Center. Texas Oncology’s robust community-based research program has more than 3,000 active clinical trials and has contributed to the development of more than 100 FDA-approved cancer therapies. Learn more at TexasOncology.com.
Contacts
Thyme Care
Texas Oncology
TXOMediaInquiries@usoncology.com