The Trump administration's budget proposal for 2020 features more than two dozen proposals aimed at reducing drug prices, according to an InsideHealthPolicy report. According to the report, the budget includes penalties for drugmakers that engage in anti-competitive practices, and bars companies […]
ICER White Paper Outlines Three Alternative Models for Pharma Rebates
A newly-released white paper by the Institute for Clinical and Economic (ICER), in partnership with the Office of Health Economics (OHE), offers a look at three potential alternative models for pharmaceutical rebates. The paper, "Value, Access, and Incentives for Innovation: Policy Perspectives on […]
NCI Director to Serve as Interim FDA Chief
National Cancer Institute Director Ned Sharpless has reportedly been tapped to serve as the Food and Drug Administration's interim chief, according to a FirstWord Pharma report. Sharpless will head the agency after FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's resignation goes into effect next […]
U.S. in Line with Other Countries on Out-of-Pocket Costs
While the U.S. posts the highest numbers among similarly-developed countries for how much consumers pay for prescription drugs, it falls in line with those same countries on out-of-pocket costs, per an Axios report. The U.S. posted $1,016 in drug spending per capita in 2016, followed by Switzerland […]
NPC’s Graff Talks RWE’s Potential, Future
National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) Vice President of Comparative Effectiveness Research Jennifer Graff during an interview with Managed Care said real-world evidence could be used consistently used in the next 10 years. "Whether this is ultimately a 10-year or 40-year evolution will be […]
AbbVie CEO Gonzalez Nets $21 Million
AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez reportedly brought home $21 million in 2018, according to a FiercePharma report, with almost $4 million of that coming from a performance-based incentive award. According to the report, Gonzalez's compensation is heavily tied with the success of the drugmaker's […]
Analysis: ASP Responsible for Big Savings for Medicare, Seniors
A new analysis by the Moran Company found that the Average Sales Price (ASP) system created through the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 has delivered significant savings for the government and seniors. The report suggests the ASP system kept roughly $132 billion in the government's and seniors' […]
Embattled Pharma Bolsters Lobbying Efforts Amid Pushback
As it continues to face widespread criticism and condemnation for high drug prices, the pharmaceutical industry is bolstering its lobbying efforts in Washington, according to a Bloomberg Government report. The political landscape, however, according to Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing spokesman […]
Centene, RxAdvance Look to Shake Up Environment Despite Skepticism
Centene and its new pharmacy benefit manager partner RxAdvance are looking to deliver "disruption" and "unparalleled savings," according to a Healthcare Dive report, but skepticism remains over the venture's ability to compete. While the 6-year-old PBM touts itself as more transparent than […]
‘The Inventor’ Takes Deep Dive Into Holmes’ Legacy
A new documentary slated to air on HBO this month is set to offer an in-depth look at Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos who now faces federal fraud charges, STAT reports. "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley" was directed by Alex Gibney, who was also responsible for the 2015 […]
Upcoming ISPOR Webinar to Spotlight Top 10 HEOR Trends
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) is set to host a March 22 webinar spotlighting what it says are the top 10 trends in health economics and outcomes research for 2019. The webinar is set to begin noon EST, and will feature speakers Richard J. Willke, […]
Chernew Says IPI Could Lower Drug Prices, Carry Unintended Consequences
Michael Chernew, director of the Healthcare Markets and Regulation Lab at Harvard Medical School and American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) editor-in-chief, says the international pricing index proposed by the Trump White House could lower prices, but that it also carries the potential for some […]
List Price of Lilly’s Insulin Generic to Cost $137 Per Vial
Eli Lilly's recently-announced alternative to Humalog, an insulin drug, is set to carry half the list price at about $137.35 per vial and $265.20 for five pens, according to a FiercePharma report. Vamil Divan, Credit Suisse analyst, says the decision could be beneficial to easing two key pressure […]
Survey: More Americans Blame Pharma for High Prices
According to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), more Americans blame the pharmaceutical industry for high drug prices, with 79 percent describing drug prices as "unreasonable." The report also found broad bipartisan support for legislative action to curb prices. A majority of […]
eMAX Health Welcomes New Member to Senior Leadership Team
eMAX Health Systems on Friday, March 1, announced it had welcomed a new member to its senior leadership. Anthony Cuccia will serve as managing director of research and commercialization services, and will be a key player in "leading the market access and health economics business units to drive […]
Podcast Spotlights Artificial Intelligence in Oncology
A new Outspoken Oncology podcast features University of Pennsylvania's Saurabh Jha to discuss the implications of artificial intelligence in health care, namely what it means for oncology. To listen to the podcast on Journal of Clinical Pathways, click here. […]
Report: Pharma Execs Largely Dodged Questions
Pharmaceutical executives during Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee hearing mostly dodged key questions, and responded with answers tattered by years of use, according to a STAT report. While top executives representing Merck, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, Sanofi and […]
Fendrick, Klein Back Drug Rebate Proposal
The Trump administration's proposal to eliminate pharma-to-PBM rebates in Medicare Part D and Medicaid managed care organizations has the potential to "significantly lower out-of-pocket prescription drug costs," the authors of a recent opinion piece published on the Morning Consult write. The […]
FirstWord Report Explores Influence of ICER
A new report from FirstWord Pharma shifts the spotlight to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), and takes a deep dive into the drug pricing watchdog's influence on prices, payers and health policy. The report includes insights from a number of experts in market access and health […]
AstraZeneca CEO Urges Government Action on Drug Pricing
While fellow pharmaceutical executives urged policymakers not to intervene in drug pricing during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday, Feb. 26, AstraZeneca's chief executive went the opposite direction. According to rolling updates from MM&M, Pascal Soriot pleaded with Senators to take […]
Tuft’s CEVR Hiring Grad School Students for Summer Internship
Tufts Medical Center's Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health (CEVR) is hiring five to six grad school students to assist over the summer with extracting key information from cost-effectiveness articles. According to CEVR's website, the paid internship will last for eight weeks, […]
Article: OBC Puts Patient First
Outcomes-based contracting puts the patient first, Model N's Nate Taninecz writes in an article published on Pharmaceutical Executive, describing it as "less is more." Taninecz in his article writes that outcomes-based contracts give patients "the best possible treatment," while also offering more […]
Peschin: ICER’s Methodology is ‘Unscientific and Discriminatory’
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review's (ICER) approach to generating cost-effectiveness reviews is "unscientific and discriminatory," Alliance for Aging Research President and CEO Susan Peschin writes in a column published on The Hill. Peschin writes that ICER's main metric, the […]
ISPOR’s Women in HEOR Launch LinkedIn Group
In an effort to facilitate discussions involving the advancement of women in leadership positions in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research's Women in HEOR has launched a LinkedIn discussion group. ISPOR launched the […]
ISPOR Offering Webinar on Top 10 HEOR Trends
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) is offering a March 22 webinar on what it has identified as the top 10 trends in health economics and outcomes research. The webinar is set to begin at 12 noon EST. ISPOR identified the following key trends: Drug […]
Report: Estimates of SMA Drugs Could Fuel Drug Pricing Debate
Recent estimates on two spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) therapies could fuel already-heated debates over the prices of new drugs when they hit the market, STAT reports. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) recently suggested significant price reductions to the two drugs, Biogen's […]
Blog Post Spotlights Challenges for Health System for New Therapies
With some 45-60 new curative or durable therapies expected to hit the market by 2030, a key challenge facing the U.S. health system concerns how payers and drugmakers can collaborate to ensure broad access to those treatments, according to a blog post by the National Pharmaceutical Council. "Paying […]
FDA, Flatiron Health Expand Research Collaboration
Flatiron Health and the Food and Drug Administration's Information Exchange and Data Transformation (INFORMED) Program on Monday, Feb. 25, announced a two-year extension and expansion of their real-world data (RWD) collaboration. The initiative since it launched in 2016 has worked to use real-world […]
ICER to Review Additive Cardiovascular Disease Therapies
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) on Feb. 22 announced plans to assess the comparative clinical effectiveness of Amarin Pharma's icosapent ethyl and Janssen Pharmaceuticals' rivaroxaban, two drugs used to treat additive cardiovascular disease (CVD). According to a […]
Article Spotlights Challenges in Assessing Value of One-Time Gene Therapies
A recent article published in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy (JMCP) attempts to make the case for a higher value-based cost-effectiveness threshold for one-time gene replacement therapies. The process of even paying for such high-cost therapies, the article states, could be a […]
