- Heavyweight champion of the world (pharmatimes.com)
For more than 15 years NICE has punched above its weight internationally but as it comes under attack for its methodology, will its international clout suffer?...The bad headlines are back; on 20 May, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence...came under fire from the media for its decision to bar Roche's Perjeta (pertuzumab) for breast cancer from the NHS...While patient groups and charities are worried about the effect on cancer patients in England, who may be denied treatment, there may also be a knock-on effect in other countries, which still look to NICE for guidance over their own reimbursement decisions...NICE International...advises countries from Ghana to Kazakhstan on HTA (health technology assessment) methodology and implementation...Yet, its international spread has come hand-in-hand with the growing disillusionment about NICE's decisions...An IMS Institute study in 2013 compared the reimbursement of cancer drugs in five countries that used cost per QALY (NICE's quality-adjusted life years) methodologies, including the UK, with five using broader methodologies, including Germany and US. It found that the cost per QALY countries reimbursed fewer cancer drugs, had slower access to those they did adopt, and generally performed poorer in terms of cancer outcomes. Moreover, it was not clear that they saved much money.
- Roche and Novartis face off in biosimilar drug battle (reuters.com)
Switzerland's biggest drugmakers are clashing over cheaper copies of pricey biotech drugs - one reason why Novartis is considering selling its $14 billion stake in...Roche...With a copycat of Roche's blood cancer drug Rituxan pending European approval, Novartis aims to muscle in on a share of sales that last year hit 7 billion Swiss francs ($7.1 billion)...But Roche is fighting back with a new medicine, Gazyva, which it contends is better than Rituxan...Beyond its own new drug portfolio, Novartis has a big side bet that cheaper "biosimilars" from its Sandoz generics unit can grab rivals' profits, while Roche has limited its focus to new drugs to counter such incursions.
- Health district board to consider MountainView’s Level III trauma center application June 23 (reviewjournal.com)
If things go as some people hope, northwest Las Vegas could be getting a Level III trauma center at MountainView Hospital...The plan has been under consideration for years but needed updated numbers to show demand...The possibility of MountainView getting approval is not assured. The Regional Trauma Advisory Board did not support its application when the hospital first formally explored the possibility in October...The biggest pushback that we’re getting in the current system is from the existing trauma centers, and many people publicly are concerned that this would have a detrimental effect on UMC...It’s important to remember that the Level III trauma centers take care of the more minor cases, and if it turns out to be something significant, they send the patient to the Level I or II centers. So, looking at the current system, and Siena being a Level III, 85 percent of the people they see either get discharged from the emergency center or get sent to a Level I or Level II facility. They see less than four patients a year who should have gone to a Level I or II center right off the bat. So, the impact is three or four patients a year...At current population levels, MountainView is expected to handle roughly two trauma cases a day, said Swenson, adding the area sees 500 to 600 trauma cases annually.
- The Transpharmation of Pharmacy Business Down Under (pharmacypodcast.com)
Robert Sztar is the founder of Pharmactive and has developed a unique 4-step method of ‘Transpharmation’ which covers:
- Education – I teach you the purpose of the currently available technologies.
- Discovery – I help pharmacy owners to discover processes in their business which can be aided or automated by technology
- Partnership – I introduce pharmacy owners to the right technology partners who will help them to plan, implement, train and maintain their products in their pharmacy.
- Optimisation – I help you review the solutions implemented to ensure that the original objectives have been delivered upon, and discussing areas of potential improvement. (podcast 24:29 min)
- Most scientists believe there is a ‘crisis’ reproducing experiments (statnews.com)1,500 scientists lift the lid on reproducibility (nature.com)
Placing trust in science can be easier when findings are confirmed, but a new survey finds that most scientists believe there is a "crisis" in reproducibility...Specifically, 52 percent reported that replicating results is a "significant" problem and another 38 percent believe a "slight crisis" exists. More than 70 percent of researchers have tried and failed to reproduce another scientist’s experiments, according to Nature, which canvassed 1,576 researchers. And more than half of the respondents reported that they failed to reproduce their own experiments...Yet one-third believe that failing to reproduce results means that a study is probably just incorrect, and most of those asked say that they continue to trust published findings. Moreover, 73 percent think that at least half of the papers in their own fields can be believed...Merck executive recently suggested that drug makers should be entitled to get their money back for potential treatments licensed from universities if the company is unable to reproduce the results in subsequent experiments...the pharmaceutical industry has been under pressure to release trial results in order to verify claims about their medicines. The issue accelerated in the wake of several scandals about undisclosed side effects...
- Most Americans would avoid clinical trials due to worries over safety and costs (statnews.com)
Most Americans would not enroll in clinical trials over concerns they would experience side effects, encounter higher costs, or receive a placebo instead of an actual medicine, according to a new survey...only 35 percent say they were likely to participate in a study and, overall, just 40 percent have a positive view of clinical trials, according to the survey...conducted by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center...The results underscore the difficulties that confront policy makers, pharmaceutical companies, and health care providers as they seek to develop and deliver new treatments. And if this sort of reluctance to participate in trials continues, there is concern there will be a research and discovery "crisis,"...clinical trials are the engine that drives innovation...This is a critical element in the process...We have so many new agents and opportunities to improve outcomes. But if we don’t enroll people in clinical trials, we will not realize the benefits...
- This Week in Managed Care: May 28, 2016 (ajmc.com)
Brian Haug, president of The American Journal of Managed Care. Welcome to This Week in Managed Care, from the Managed Markets News Network.
- India’s Sun Pharma gets U.S. subpoena over generic drugs pricing (finance.yahoo.com)
U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed India's largest drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd seeking information about the pricing and marketing of the generic drugs it sells in the United States...The DoJ's antitrust division has also asked Sun Pharma's U.S. unit for documents related to employee and corporate records and communications with competitors...They specifically cited doxycycline hyclate 100 milligram, an antibiotic for which the price doubled in the year through June 2014...Other generic drugmakers including India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd and U.S. firm Allergan Plc also received subpoenas from regulators seeking similar information last year, but they did not disclose the names of the products involved...
- Pharma’s reputation improved slightly, but still has a ways to go (statnews.com)
Despite blistering criticism over its pricing, the pharmaceutical industry managed to improve its reputation last year, albeit very slightly, according to a new survey released this week. Using a formula that relies on ranking several different attributes, the industry received a passing grade of 67.6, a modest two-point improvement..."These results show that the industry is not perceived as badly as many industry insiders think...perceptions are "very polarized," since one-third of those asked said drug makers have an excellent reputation, but another third view their reputation as weak or poor...Overall, consumers thought the companies were doing better when it comes to the quality of products and services, as well as financial performance. But an industry weak spot is being a good corporate citizen, which is another way of describing a company that behaves ethically and is transparent in its dealings...
- Pharmacy Week in Review: May 27, 2016 (pharmacytimes.com)
Mike Glaicar, Business Development: Pharmacy Times...(PTNN) This weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings and more.