Widespread healthcare workforce shortages and high employer-sponsored health insurance costs are impacting health systems and increasing healthcare costs. One potential solution for this problem is value-based care (VBC), which bases reimbursement on quality of care and patient outcomes. According […]
Latest Stories
CMS Approves Coverage for VR Pain Relief Solution
In the first approval of its kind, the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have approved AppliedVR’s RelieVRx immersive virtual reality (VR) platform as a durable medical device. This opens up funding for not only RelieVRx, but also other therapeutic immersive VR programs. With the […]
FTC Says Parkinson’s Drug Patent Fight is Major Case for Patients
A case between Supernus and Sage Chemical over the Parkinson’s disease drug Apokyn has far-reaching implications for patients, according to the US Federal Trade Commission. Sage’s generic version of the drug was approved in 2022, but patients could not access it because approval does not cover the […]
HHS Shoots Down Call to Use March-In Rights for Xtandi
In a win for Pfizer and Astellas, the US Department of Health and Human Services decided against using march-in rights to lower the price of Xtandi, a blockbuster prostate cancer drug. Exercising march-in rights would the government to share patents made using public funds with third-party […]
Questioning the Detrimental Impacts of QALY in Health Policy
While disability advocates and lawmakers have decried the use of quality-adjusted life years (QALY) in recent years, some argue that it is an indispensable measure that is unfairly maligned. For example, patient advocates argue that the focus on quality of life devalues the lives of disabled people […]
Study Offers Recommendations for China’s Biosimilar Regulations
A recently published paper in Frontiers in Pharmacology examines the regulatory framework surrounding biosimilars in China. The researchers noted that the regulatory system is not “clearly formed” and is ill suited to support the nearly 400 biosimilars in development in the country. The paper offers […]
Eisai CEO Not too Worried About Leqembi After CMS Keeps Anti-Amyloid Rule
Eisai’s CEO Ivan Cheung told Fierce Pharma he is not too worried about the long-term success of Leqembi in light of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) declined to change its rule about reimbursement for drugs in its class. The rule states that drugs targeting amyloid, a key […]
Takeda Reveals Pricing for Dengue Vaccine
Fresh off approval of its dengue vaccine in Brazil, Takeda has announced its pricing strategy for the shot. Prices will be determined by endemic status of the disease in a given country. Indonesia, where the virus is endemic, will see the vaccine priced at $40 per dose, while travel markets like […]
Exploring the Systemic Causes of Maternal Mortality in the US
A 2022 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explored the underlying causes of high maternal mortality in the US. Over 75% of maternal deaths happen after returning from the hospital after delivery and 80% were preventable. A new article in Health Affairs, explains how […]
Ozempic and Mounjaro Back on Shelves
Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, both diabetes drugs used off-label for weight loss, have been on a backlog for months due to an explosion of popularity. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, most doses of the two drugs are back in stock. This excludes the higher doses of […]
