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Drugmaker Novartis AG has begun a program in Kenya, Ethiopia and Vietnam to supply 15 low-cost medicines to fight chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure…its scheme would supply drugs for just $1 per treatment per month to governments, aid groups and others for a range of conditions that also includes cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Novartis chose Kenya, Ethiopia and Vietnam because of the problems people there have in obtaining sophisticated medicines and because the company said it already has a strong presence and ties to non-governmental organizations…

Lower costs for newer medicines through subsidies are going begging in Australia as drug companies increasingly look to avoid putting products through regulation paces needed to qualify,… 9 in 10 big pharmaceutical companies say they have considered not applying for subsidies--which could lower costs for newer medicines… Cost and access in Australia's reimbursed drug program, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, is a central political issue with costs for newer medicines, particularly oncology therapies, a target for the Treasury...industry alleges the system that approves and sets reimbursement prices is broken...

"This is not what we do in the biotech industry," Alnylam's Maraganore…"We're about innovation, patience and 21st century medicines. We're not about repricing drugs from the 1950s to make a profit. It's not how we focus our R&D investments." …"Most Americans get it when people work hard, they take risks and then they get rewarded. But people do tend to hate it and dislike it when people try to cheat the system," he said….Maraganore said prices for new drugs are not too high. "The focus should be on value and access. There's a lot of data that shows that drugs actually reduce overall costs," he contended—claiming money spent on medications can lower health-care expenditures.

Drug's (cycloserine) price rose to $360 a capsule after Rodelis acquired it...new owner, the cost will go down to $35 per capsule....A nonprofit in Indiana has dropped the price of a drug for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis roughly 90% after re-acquiring rights to the medicine from Rodelis Therapeutics, the latest sign of a growing outcry over skyrocketing costs for rare disease treatments.

Apple stirred a long-simmering controversy into a raging debate:… ad blocking in its newest operating system…ad blocking technology is not new, Apple's considerable mainstream influence had publishers scrambling and advertisers worried… Pharma companies are affected mechanically in much the same way all advertisers are…ad blockers could have some specific effects for pharma. Some pharma companies,… rely more heavily on digital advertising than other media placements, especially for marketing smaller-reach specialized drugs...

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare received around 50 formal applications and has cleared screening for the "sakigake" fast-track drug and device review process before the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency,… The "sakigake designation system" is aimed at expediting the review of innovative drugs, regenerative medicines and devices developed in Japan earlier than the rest of the world. This includes prioritized consultations and priority review status….products considered must display a novel mechanism of action, be scalable commercially, show high efficacy and be developed and planned for approval in Japan ahead of the rest of the world,…

Apps are all the rage in healthcare and pretty much everywhere else. Despite so much buzz about consumers using mobile healthcare apps, however, the options proving useful are few and far between…With some 165,000 health-related apps available, in fact, a mere 36 comprise nearly 50 percent of downloads… Two key data points illustrate how almost all of the apps fall short: Just 10 percent can connect to a device or sensor while a mere 2 percent sync into providers' systems,...that functionality could greatly improve both accuracy and convenience of data collection.

The red carpet may have finally seen it all. Toenail fungus and its nemesis, Big J, the animated big toe in a purple hat character showed up post-Emmy Awards on a fictional red carpet--but with real preshow co-host Mario Lopez…Valeant Pharmaceutical's TV spot for anti-fungal cream Jublia features Emmy co-host Mario Lopez calling out limousine stars on arrival, then zooms in on a woman's feet as he exclaimed, "Whoa, toenail fungus." Big J, the fungus-fighting character, proceeds to toss the offending fungus off the carpet.

Aims for a 'more patient-centered medical product development and assessment process'…As healthcare enters an era in which "patients and their care partners participate actively in decision-making and priority-setting," FDA has launched its first-ever Patient Engagement Advisory Committee…the group will offer perspective...on issues related to regulation of technology and medical devices, and their use by patients. FDA will learn about patient-related topics and better integrate those patient perspectives into its regulatory process.

Almost every American will experience an error in diagnosis at some point in life. But the problem has taken a back seat to other patient safety concerns,…The report from a blue-ribbon panel of the Institute of Medicine called for widespread changes in health care to improve diagnoses…Errors in diagnosis — defined as inaccuracies or delays — account for an estimated 10 percent of patient deaths, hundreds of thousands of adverse events in hospitals each year and are a leading cause of paid medical malpractice claims...