Pricing, reimbursement and access
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Generics
Drug costs in the Republic of Ireland have risen inexorably in recent times to the point where the State's spend on pharmaceuticals is among the highest in Europe, claimed a recent editorial in the Irish Times, which has raised the hackles of the trade group the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA). 18 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
As part of its ongoing campaign to lower AIDS drug prices and increase access, the USA-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has unveiled its latest element in a multifaceted advocacy campaign challenging Merck & Co over the steep price it charges for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress (raltegravir), which it argues is the most expensive first-line AIDS therapy in the USA today. Last month, the AHF banned Merck's representatives from its clinics as part of the campaign (The Pharma Letter January 27). 17 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Australia's pharmaceutical industry is citing research released late last year by the UK Department of Health which found that Australia has among the lowest prices for new medicines in the developed world (The Pharma Letter December 16, 2009) comparing the prices of the leading 150 branded prescription medicines in 11 European countries, the USA and Australia. Of the comparator countries, only Australia - which was added to the UK comparator list only in 2007 - was significantly lower than the UK, the report found. 15 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Novartis Oncology, a UK unit of the Swiss drug major, says it disagrees with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) preliminary view that neither its Tasigna (nilotinib) nor dasatinib (Bristol-Myers Squibb's Sprycel) should be recommended for use in the treatment of Philadelphia-chromosome positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who are intolerant to imatinib (The Pharma Letter February 9). 10 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
In draft guidance, published today, the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) says it has been unable to recommend Swiss drug major Novartis' Afinitor (everolimus) for the second line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. 9 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Global drug behemoth Pfizer is launching a system of electronic payment for medicines that links it directly with patients in many of the world's rapidly-emerging markets, reported Andrew Jack in the UK's Financial Times. 9 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Israel-headquartered Teva Pharmaceutical Industries says that several of its subsidiaries in the USA have reached a settlement in principle to resolve claims brought by Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys on behalf of the US states Texas, Florida and California under federal and state False Claims Acts. 8 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
China has maintained its fourth place in the Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings matrix for the 15 key markets in the Asia Pacific region from Business Monitor International. Globally, the country is placed 18th out of the 71 nations surveyed worldwide, indicating its vast potential. 8 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
In the wake of apparently stalled American health care reform, according to annual government projections released yesterday, US health care spending is expected to have reached $2,500 billion in 2009 - an estimated 5.7% increase since 2008, despite a projected decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the same period. 5 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Estimates of pain care treatment costs exceed $1 billion annually in the USA, according to two presentations at the American Academy of Pain Medicine's 26th Annual Meeting. One evaluated intrathecal drug delivery (a targeted medicine delivery system) that could save costs over time. The other analyzed the differences between the costs of treatment for chronic pain treatments. 5 February 2010
Generics
Canada's pharmaceuticals market should grow relatively slowly over the forecast period. Its value in 2008 was C$22.9 billion ($22 billion), according to a new report from Business Monitor International, whose authors expect this to rise to C$30 billion by the end of 2014, representing a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 4.41% in Canadian dollar terms. In the longer term, the report forecasts that the Canadian drug sector will reach a value of C$35.1 billion in 2019, representing a CAGR of 3.18% in local currency terms. 5 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
With effect from February 1, the cost of long-established prescription medicines in Ireland has been reduced by 40%, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) announced, which could save the nation's patients as much as 500 euros ($695) a year. 3 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
At its general assembly last month, Japan's Chuikyo (the Central Social Insurance Medical Council) revealed that the premium for the development of new drugs is to be set at 5.10%, slightly below the 5.13% announced-previously by the Korosho (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare), which will be introduced on a trial basis from this April. 1 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Ongoing Australian investment in a sustainable and cost-effective Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will help the government achieve its goal of lifting productivity, says the research-based trade body Medicines Australia's chief executive, Brendan Shaw. Dr Shaw was responding to today's launch by the Treasurer of the Third Intergenerational Report - Australia to 2050. 1 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
In draft guidance published today, the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has asked Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca to provide more data on the effectiveness of its product Iressa (gefitinib, as a treatment for locally-advanced or metastatic non small cell lung cancer. 29 January 2010
Pharmaceutical
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the USA, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe, including 18 health care centers in California, Florida and Washington DC, has banned pharmaceutical sales representatives from US drug giant Merck & Co from calling on AHF's medical providers and staff in its US health care centers. 27 January 2010
Pharmaceutical
A UK-based heart charity is calling on Members of Parliament and patients to protest against a decision to refuse funding for a new drug that could improve the lives of thousands of people with atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder, French drug major Sanofi-Aventis' Multaq (dronedarone), which the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) last year declined to approve its use on National Health Service (The Pharma Letter December 24, 2009). 26 January 2010
Pharmaceutical
A snap-shot price comparison has found that patients in the United Arab Emirates pay at least four times more for a branded drug than its generic version available in retail pharmacies. The one-day survey was conducted by Health Action International (HAI), an independent global network working to increase access to medicines, across 93 countries on November 30 last year. 26 January 2010
Pharmaceutical
The controversy around US drug giant Merck & Co's pricing for its key AIDS drug Isentress (raltegravir) - at nearly $13,000 per patient yearly, the most expensive first line AIDS therapy on the US market today - continued last week following the company's reaction to recent public criticism of its AIDS drug pricing, alleges the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Merck ramped up its damage control PR efforts, issuing a press release that sought to rewrite the history of Isentress and deflect attention by claiming the AHF has been unfairly attacking the firm. 25 January 2010
Pharmaceutical
According to the new pricing decree that was issued by the Turkish government on September 18, 2009, to apply as of December 4, 2009, the prices of 20 year-old products with an ex-factory price above 6.79 Turkish lira (4.66) must be revised according to reference prices, reports the Turkish Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies, the AiFD. 20 January 2010
Biotechnology
The UK’s health technology assessor the Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) says that talks with the makers of Enhertu have ended without agreement, meaning guidance that does not recommend Enhertu for advanced breast cancer will remain unchanged. 20 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Johnson & Johnson has taken legal action to defend a contentious rebate initiative, filing a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. 15 November 2024
Biotechnology
Sanofi has announced that the UK's health technology assessor will conduct a new review of its Sarclisa (isatuximab) combo therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. 13 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
The US trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) today launched new advertisements urging Congress to make sure savings on medicines go to patients, not middlemen. 11 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Danish patients are being offered fewer innovative treatments than Norwegians and Swedes, a new estimate from the Danish Medicines Council shows. 11 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
UK pharma major AstraZeneca today announced that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its final draft guidance (FDG) recommending Wainzua (eplontersen) as a treatment option for hereditary transthyretin-related amyloidosis (ATTR) in adults with stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy across England and Wales. 29 October 2024
Biotechnology
Last week Vertex Pharmaceuticals released positive Phase III results for its suzetrigine for moderate-to-severed pain. Belgium’s UCB revealed that Swiss pharma giant Roche was terminating its collaboration on the Alzheimer’s candidate bepranemab. The UK’s health technology assessor the Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) declined to recommend a second Alzheimer’s treatment, this time Eli Lilly’s Kisunla. Also of note, Lyell Immunopharma announced its planned acquisition of ImmPACT Bio and reprioritization of its own clinical pipeline. 27 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has updated its Clinical Practice Guidelines for breast cancer, providing a boost to Novartis' Kisqali (ribociclib). 24 October 2024
Biotechnology
The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved US pharma major Eli Lilly’s (NYSE: LLY) Kisunla (donanemab) for people in Britain with mild cognitive impairment or those in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. 23 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), yesterday released new data showing that nearly 1.5 million people with Medicare Part D saved nearly $1 billion in out-of-pocket prescription drugs costs in the first half of 2024 because of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. 23 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
UK health technology assessor the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended elafibranor 80mg tablets for the treatment of PBC, the drug’s French developer Ipsen announced today. 22 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has released its final report assessing the effectiveness and pricing of key treatments for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). 22 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) says it has submitted comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to inform the agency’s 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. 21 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
“The new key figures from the NZa show that Dutch expenditure on expensive medicines remains stable,” says Mark Kramer, chairman of the Association of Innovative Medicines (VIG), adding: “That is good news from a social perspective.” 21 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
The Danish Medicines Council (Medicinrådet), responsible for evaluating and recommending new treatments for Denmark’s healthcare system, is facing a significant increase in processing times. 14 October 2024
Generics
Two US units of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have agreed to pay $450 million to resolve two matters that allege Teva violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the False Claims Act (FCA), the US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced yesterday. 11 October 2024
Biosimilars
South Korea’s Samsung Bioepis has released its Fourth Quarter 2024 Biosimilar Market Report, marking the seventh-edition of the Quarterly Biosimilar Market Report in the United States. 11 October 2024
Biotechnology
US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson’s Tecvayli (teclistamab) has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a first-line option to treat myeloma in England and Wales. 10 October 2024
Generics
CMS released a Request for Information (RFI) and a sample list of prescription drugs that the agency preliminarily intends to include under the proposed Medicare $2 Drug List Model. 10 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
US pharma major Bristol Myers Squibb’s recent approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Cobenfy (xanomeline and trospium chloride) for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia is a win for the company. 9 October 2024
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