Bruce Booth, Atlas Venture partner, offers several suggestions for future drug pricing reform in a recent article published on Forbes. Among his recommendations, Booth says the industry should put more weight behind value-based pricing models and further incentivize the development of novel […]
Hospitals Increase Spending on Cancer Immunotherapies
Hospitals are allocating more of their budgets toward new cancer and migraine treatments amid ongoing concerns over prescription drug prices, according to a STAT report. According to the report, Lumere discovered the trend after analyzing data collected from 26 facilities across four health […]
Analysis: Vote on Correvio’s Brinavess Shows RWE, RWD Not a Guarantee
Correvio Pharma posted another loss for its heart drug Brinavess this week following an FDA advisory committee's 11-2 vote against the drug. The loss, according to a Pink Sheet analysis, serves as "another indication that real-world data is not a panacea." To read the analysis, click here. […]
Senate Confirms Hahn to Head FDA
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Stephen Hahn to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Reuters reports. Hahn fills the seat left vacant by former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb, who stepped down in April. According to the report, the Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee in a […]
NPC Responds to ICER’s Non-Drug Topics for 2020
The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) in a letter to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) offered its suggestions for non-drug assessments in 2020. ICER recently issued a call for public input as it develops a roadmap for non-drug assessment topics next year. NPC suggested […]
Webinar to Highlight AMCP Partnership Forum
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is set to host a Dec. 17 webinar highlighting key takeaways from the AMCP Partnership Forum on pharmacy and therapeutics practices. The webinar is open to members and non-members and is set to begin at 2 p.m. EST. Speakers for the webinar are […]
Report Highlights Pharma Trends to Watch for in 2020
Syneos Health in its annual trends report highlights some key trends it believes will "shape biopharmaceutical decision making" next year. The report, "2020 Health Trends: Changing Lives and Life Sciences," was produced using data from hundreds of health care trend watchers. "As we enter the […]
NIH Awards Grant to Verantos to Fund Clinical Phenotyping in RWE Studies
Verantos this week announced it was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund research for clinical phenotyping using real-world evidence (RWE). "We are proud to announce the ongoing support of NIH to advance the science behind real-world evidence," Verantos Founder and […]
Researchers Talk Transferability of Economic Evaluations
David Kim, Rachel Bacon and Peter Neumann, all of Tufts Medical Center, in a recent interview with HITAP International Unit discussed the transferability of economic evaluations. The researchers penned a chapter on that subject in "Non-communicable Disease Prevention: Best Buys, Wasted Buys, and […]
ISPOR Issues Call for Comments on INAMI/RIZIV Report
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) has issued a call for comments on a report from Belgian payer INAMI/RIZIV on real-world evidence in HTA/payer decisions. The deadline to submit feedback is Tuesday, Dec. 10. To read the report, click here. Click […]
Snyder Talks Value-Based Agreements
Richard Snyder, executive vice president of Facilitated Health Networks and chief medical officer at Independence Blue Cross, in a recent interview with the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) highlighted some key components of value-based agreements. "We've followed a policy of engage, […]
Deadline to Submit Feedback on FDA Document to ISPOR is Today
The deadline to submit comments to the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) as it responds to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) document on patient-focused drug development is today. According to an email, the document is the second in a series of draft […]
PCORI Highlights Ambassador Program
PCORI in a recent video highlights how its ambassador program could be a boon to scientists and researchers. University of California San Francisco's James Harrison and Michigan Public Health Institute Program Director Mathew Edick are featured in the video. "PCORI's Ambassador Program […]
Report: Health Spending Grew 4.6% in 2018
New data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) suggests U.S. health spending posted a 4.6 percent increase ($3.6 trillion) in 2018, HealthLeaders Media reports. The number of uninsured Americans, however, rose by 1 million. "Healthcare spending growth picked up […]
2018 Sees Dip in Prescription Drug Prices
The U.S. saw a 1 percent dip in prescription drug prices in 2018, the Associated Press reports. According to the report, the decrease was for retail pharmacy prescriptions. The last drop in prices for such drugs was a 0.2 percent dip in 1973. To read the full report on AP, click here. […]
EU HTA Network Sees Benefits of Patient Involvement
The EUnetHTA, the European Union's health technology assessment network, says there are noticeable benefits when including patient input, The Pink Sheet reports. To read the full report on The Pink Sheet, click here. […]
Duke University’s Ubel Urges Legislation on Health Care Prices
Peter Ubel, a physician and behavioral scientist at Duke University, in a recent article published in Los Angeles Times says that while his wife's life is priceless, the drugs keeping her cancer at bay are too expensive. "Congress or private insurers should pursue legislation that requires […]
Putting the Patient Ahead of Ratings
Should a physician put their personal grades first, or focus more on the goals of their patients? Physician Jeffrey Millstein writes in a recent article published in The Philadelphia Inquirer that when he started focusing more on a particular patient's personal goals, the patient was more […]
ISPOR Issues Call for Abstracts for Asia Meeting
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) announced it is accepting research abstracts as it prepares for its ISPOR Asia Pacific 2020 meeting in South Korea. According to an email, ISPOR is seeking research abstracts, issue panel proposals and workshop […]
Drugmakers Invest $2 Billion in Gene Therapy
Eleven drugmakers have allocated a combined $2 billion for gene therapy manufacturing since 2018, Reuters reports. Pfizer and Novartis, according to the report, are leading the charge with $600 million and $500 million investments respectively. "There's so little capacity and capability at […]
Report: Concerns Mount Over England’s Push for Lower Prices
A new framework from the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) has sparked some concerns as the agency continues its push to lower prescription drug prices, the Pink Sheet reports. "It's now clearly in the public domain, for those who didn't know, that NHS England wants to get companies to price […]
AMCP Forum Spotlights Digital Therapeutics
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's (AMCP) recent Partnership Forum shifted the spotlight to digital therapeutics and their role in pharmacy and medical benefits. AMCP CEO Susan Cantrell in a blog post offers an overview of the key takeaways from the event. "After attending the forum, I'm […]
AMCP Offers Program on Value-Based Contracting
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is offering a learning program on value-based contracting. The program includes seven modules. "The program includes an overview of today's key trends and challenges and provides insights and solutions," a description of the program […]
Article: ICER’s Changes Based on Industry Feedback ‘Modest’
While the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) consistently asks for input on its reports, the changes between draft and revised evidence reports are "generally modest," a recent article published in Value in Health suggests. The authors reviewed 15 reports by ICER between 2017 and […]
Using AI to Improve EHR Use
Vendors of electronic health records (EHRs) are incorporating artificial intelligence algorithms to bolster their products which otherwise face a range of issues, according to an EHRIntelligence report. AI can help tackle a number of problems, per the report, including improvements in […]
Three Key Issues on RWE
A recent article published on DOTmed highlights three key hurdles involving the use of real-world evidence (RWE). According to the article, the three issues are: Complex data structures; Introducing results from machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms into real-world […]
Report: Uncertainty Abound on Health Policy
In the midst of a tumultuous Washington, health care policy is likely to take a back seat during the 2020 election season, according to a MM&M report. Impeachment hearings are likely to retain the spotlight going into the election, per the report. "It's clearly going to suck the oxygen out […]
CMS Chief Criticizes High Launch Prices
During the recent Milken Institute's Future of Health Summit, Seema Verma, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, was critical of high prescription drug launch prices, Policy & Medicine reports. "Now we have a half a million-dollar drug and $1 million drug and the question […]
NPC: ICER ‘Abritrarily Capping Treatment Prices’ for SSTs
The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) has expressed concerns over the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review's (ICER) adaptations to its value assessment framework regarding single or short-term transformative therapies (SSTs). ICER is set to incorporate the updates next year. " ... […]
IQVIA’s Nasuti: Real-World Database Studies are ‘a Long Journey’
IQVIA Real World Solutions UK Associate Principal Paola Nasuti in a recent interview with the Pink Sheet discussed real-world database studies, saying that a variety of data are being used in "more novel ways." "Real-world databases are a long journey," she tells the Pink Sheet. To read the […]