Industry news

• The Quest to Measure Drug Effectiveness

  12 November 2019 Pharmaceutical Executive

  The agencies that decide how much to pay for a medicine are being twisted every day into new contortions by the challenges of measuring drug benefit. Highly innovative technologies are offering the prospect of dramatically transformative treatment—but they are often expensive, and their offer, in many cases, is  based on slender evidence. Direct-acting antiviral therapies for hepatitis C, for example, or the cell and gene therapies emerging in areas of high unmet need are increasingly reaching the market through accelerated pathways of development and regulatory review, obliging payers to work out new approaches to weighing the full benefit-cost ratio.

• Japanese firm’s AI algorithm for gastric cancer gets FDA’s Breakthrough Device Deisgnation

  12 November 2019 Arundhati Parmar / MedCityNews

  The Food and Drug Administration has provided a Breakthrough Device Designation for its machine learning algorithm that has the ability to analyze endoscopy images for potential diagnosis of gastric cancer. AI Medical Service, a Tokyo-based startup announced Monday that the Food and Drug Administration has given its machine learning algorithm breakthrough device designation for its ability to analyze endoscopy images for potential diagnosis of gastric cancer.

• Pharma's digital ad spending set for a leap in 2020 as TV flattens out, forecast says

  11 November 2019 Beth Snyder Bulik / FiercePharma

  Ad spending is going up around the world, and that includes pharma. Healthcare and pharma spending will grow 3.7% globally to $35.7 billion in 2020, according to WARC marketing intelligence service’s annual prediction.

• Russian Pharma Supports Unified EAEU GMP Inspectorate

  11 November 2019 GMP News

  Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of the Eurasian Economic Union with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, the Eurasian Economic Commission held a specialized conference on the development of the pharmaceutical market of the Union.

• Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Provides Pain Relief and Opioid Alternative

  08 November 2019 GMP News

  Researchers have used nanoparticles to deliver a drug into specific compartments of nerve cells, dramatically increasing its ability to treat pain in mice and rats.  The study was undertaken by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry, Monash University, Columbia University, and the University of Santiago in Chile.

• Medication Reviews Can Help Patients With Diabetes

  07 November 2019 Jill Drury / Pharmacy Times

  Brown bag consults can be essential educational and safety tools to measure and ensure quality care. By asking patients to bring in all their current medications, including OTC, mail-order, specialty, and herbal products, pharmacists can guarantee appropriate and up-to-date care.

• Driving Improved Access to Biosimilars

  07 November 2019 Agnes Shanley / BioPharm International

  As public opinion of the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry continues to worsen in Gallup polls in the United States, drug prices remain a hot button political issue. This is particularly true for insulin. In a formal statement in December 2018, former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb referred to insulin prices, which have increased nearly 600% between 2001 and 2015, with the average US list price rising by 15% per year between 2012 and 2016. He suggested that biosimilar versions of insulin would be likely to reach the market over the next few years.

• The Online User Experience That Can Drive Action for Your Brand

  06 November 2019 FiercePharma

  Promoting change is difficult, so it’s empowering to learn that online health information can inspire health-improving actions. Research firm KR&I, in a month-long digital ethnography study sponsored by Verywell, found that an impressive 50 percent of research participants felt that there was something they could do in response to information they found.

• Moscow Pharma Industry Grew by 9%

  05 November 2019 GMP News

  In January-June 2019, the industrial production index of the pharmaceutical industry in Moscow grew by 34.5% compared to the first half of 2018. The city occupies 19.5% of the total volume of shipped pharmaceutical products in Russia: in the first half of the year, Moscow shipped medicines worth 53.9 billion rubles. This is 9.1% higher than last year.

• Growth Point for Pharmaceuticals is Formed in Russia

  01 November 2019 GMP News

  Today, the pharmaceutical industry in Russia needs a new incentive for development. Launched in 2009, the state industry support program Pharma 2020 gave a strong impetus to the development of the medical and pharmaceutical sectors at the initial stage, which showed significant growth in both production and financial indicators. However, now this impetus is gradually dying out – the pharmaceutical sector growth rate has started to decline since 2018, which is not surprising – the stimulating state program expires next year.