The Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) recently announced the co-chairs for its global annual meeting set for March 8-11 in Miami, Florida. The organization named Sanofi Genzyme's Robin Winter-Sperry and DePuy Synthes' John Pracyk as co-chairs. "I am honored and excited to co-develop such […]
CEOs Vow Change to Better Service Americans
CEOs at some of the largest insurers in the U.S. have pledged to revamp their purpose in an effort to bolster their service to Americans, FierceHealthcare reports. The chief executives from CVS Health, Cigna and Anthem are among 181 executives in the U.S. who have made the pledge, according to the […]
How Will Oncology Biosimilars Affect Prices?
Ronny Gal, a biopharmaceutical analyst with Bernstein, suggested in a recent report that overall prices for cancer treatments "are likely to decline by 70% in five years" as biosimilar competition enters the fold, according to a Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society report. Amgen and Allergan […]
Study: 700,000 More Uninsured in 2017
A new study from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that some 700,000 more people were without health insurance in 2017, bringing the uninsured rate to 10.2 percent for that year, Modern Healthcare reports. According to the report, the total of uninsured in 2017 hit 27.3 million. The main […]
RWE Initiative to Take Center Stage at ISPOR Summit 2019
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research's (ISPOR) Summit 2019 will focus on transparency in real-world evidence studies, the organization announced. The ISPOR Summit 2019 is slated for Oct. 11 in Baltimore, Maryland. "Transparency of RWE studies is a critical aspect […]
Cummings, Sanders Put Pressure on Pharma Companies
Rep. Elijah Cummings and Sen. Bernie Sanders are turning up the pressure against pharmaceutical giants Teva, Mylan and Heritage Pharmaceuticals as policymakers seek answers on generic drug pricing, FiercePharma reports. Cummings and Sanders, according to the report, allege the companies crafted and […]
Podcast Spotlights RWE in Drug Development
A new podcast in a series titled 'Non-binding Guidance' by Ropes & Gray spotlights the use of real-world evidence in the drug development landscape. Ropes & Gray attorneys Kellie Combs and Sarah Blankstein discuss how the pharmaceutical industry has been utilizing RWE in the development […]
Tufts Health Plan, Harvard Pilgrim to Merge
Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care this week announced plans to merge, HealthPayerIntelligence reports. "Building upon our collective synergies and strengths — which includes being among the top-rated health plans in the country for quality — will unlock value that can be immediately […]
ICER Releases Final Report on DMD Treatments
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) on Thursday, Aug. 15, released its final report on treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). ICER reviewed three drugs for DMD: PTC Therapeutics' Emflaza and Sarepta Therapeutics' Exondys 51 and golodirsen. ICER CMO David Rind in a […]
Study Suggests Employers Shifting Focus to High-Cost Claims
A recent study by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) found that about 39 percent of employers are mulling how to tackle high-cost claims as 2020 nears, according to a HealthPayerIntelligence report. The study included input from 147 large employers responsible for some 15.6 million […]
KFF Analysis: Health Costs with Employer-Sponsored Plans Exceed Wage, Inflation Growth
A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests patients with large employer-sponsored health plans paid about 67 percent more for the care and benefits in 2018 than in 2008. The analysis found that a family of four on average spent $4,706 on premiums and $3,020 on cost sharing in 2018. […]
Despite Increasing Interest in RWE, Barriers Remain
While regulators have expressed interest in facilitating real-world evidence (RWE) in the drug development pipeline, a number of key obstacles, such as infrastructure and data concerns, remain, according to a PMLiVE report. Drugmaker Pfizer recently was able to lean on data from electronic health […]
ICER Plans Review of Sickle Cell Disease Treatments
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) on Aug. 9 announced plans to assess the comparative clinical effectiveness of two treatments for sickle cell disease: Novartis' crizanlizumab and Global Blood Therapeutics' voxelotor. ICER is accepting stakeholder input in preparation for the […]
AstraZeneca to Use Inovalon’s ONE Platform for New Initiative
Inovalon this week announced AstraZeneca would utilize the company's ONE Platform to create a value-based platform to bolster the commercialization of a new therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). According to a press release, experts under Inovalon's Avalere branch will leverage […]
PCORI Awards Grant to HFA
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) recently awarded the Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA) a Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award, Hemophilia News Today reports. PCORI chose HFA and its Females in Research Sharing and Translation (FIRST) project for the […]
NPC: Value Assessment Frameworks ‘Not Ready for Prime Time’
Despite the rising popularity of value assessment frameworks among decision makers in the health care industry, a recent analysis from the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) suggests they are "not ready for prime time." The analysis, which was published in Value in Health, examined how value […]
Webinar on RWE in Pharma Set for Aug. 15
An upcoming webinar set for Aug. 15 will highlight how 30 biopharmaceutical companies are incorporating or planning to utilize real-world evidence and real-world data. The webinar is set to begin 1:30 p.m. EST. Featured speakers are Mary Jo Lamberti, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development […]
Jansen: More Transparency Needed in Value Assessments
Open-Source Value Project Lead Scientific Advisor Jeroen Jansen in a recent interview with the American Journal of Managed Care says one key hurdle facing value assessments is a lack of transparency. " ... There's a lot of debate about what's the appropriate framework, the different ways of how to […]
NPC, AcademyHealth Webinar Available On-Demand
A June 18 webinar hosted by the National Pharmaceutical Council and AcademyHealth is now available to view on-demand. The webinar, titled "What's in a Number? It Matters in Health Policy Conversations," looks at how estimates on prescription drug spending can fluctuate anywhere between 10 percent […]
What Impact Could Preprints Have on Academic Articles?
A recent preprint on bioRxiv suggests papers posted as preprints prior to being published in peer review journals see increased citations and higher Altmetric scores than other articles, according to a Publication Plan report. According to the report, the authors of the article analyzed preprints […]
Webinar Spotlights Legislative Outlook for CER
A recent webinar hosted by the Alliance for Health Policy looks at what could be in store for comparative effectiveness research in the legislative arena. The webinar was posted on YouTube July 29. "This webinar outlined the various PCORI reauthorization bills and amendments that have been […]
Panel Discusses Creative Financing Proposals
An expert panel during the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research's (ISPOR) meeting in New Orleans discussed a number of innovative payment models for tackling some key cost hurdles involving new, transformative therapies. The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) in a […]
On-Demand Webinar from NPC, NAHPC Highlights Health Spending
A July 17 webinar hosted by the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) and National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (NAHPC) on health care spending is now available on demand. The online event, titled "It Costs How Much? Understanding Health Care Spending and Getting to the Root of the […]
Intermountain Healthcare Launching Value-Based Care Company
Intermountain Healthcare is preparing to launch a new value-based care company called Castell, according to a Managed Healthcare Executive report. The company, according to the report, will offer clients a new platform aimed at bolstering practices. "Intermountain has actively developed tools and […]
Article Spotlights Value-Based Contracting in Oncology
While value-based contracting presents an opportunity to address the high costs associated with cancer care, there are still a number of barriers which complicate adoption of those models, the authors of a recent article published on Managed Healthcare Executive write. Cancer costs, according to […]
McQeen Talks Cost Effectiveness
University of Colorado's R. Brett McQueen during a recent interview with the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) discussed why it's necessary to consider numerous criteria when working to determine cost effectiveness. "Taking into account not only traditional criteria, such as […]
Clinerion, Dresden International University Partner on RWE, RWD Course
Dresden International University's (DIU) Master's Program in Clinical Research and Clinerion are partnering on a new real-world evidence and real-world data initiative as part of the university's new course on real-world evidence generation. According to a press release, the collaboration will […]
Report Finds Patients are ‘Confused’ on Health Care
Although 78 percent of patients report positive health care experiences, roughly 69 percent reported feeling a lack of control of their patient journey, according to a recent report by Maestro Health. According to that report, 79 percent of patients also reported that it was too expensive to […]
Cummings Announces Plans to Get Pharma Execs to Testify on Drug Prices
Following a Friday hearing on drug prices and their impact on patients, Rep. Elijah Cummings, House Oversight and Reform Committee chairman, announced plans for a hearing in which pharmaceutical executives would be called to testify on prices, The Hill reports. "I want to tell you, this may make […]
Grassley Touts Drug Pricing Bill
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley on Thursday sought support for his key drug pricing proposal, saying that his plan would outmatch anything produced by President Donald Trump and Democrats, STAT reports. "Who knows what he's going to do at the last minute," Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance […]
