Guest Blogger

In the midst of the hue and cry last week over the public release of individual Medicare payments to physicians, I was surprised to read that one of Medicare’s most costly medical services is - ophthalmology.

Overall, last year can be considered quite a successful one in terms of new product approvals.

Health IT is going through an era of both expansion and convergence, in which the universe of available information is growing exponentially.

We spend a lot of time focusing on what our advertising says to physicians, what our reps say to physicians, and what our websites and various other channels communicate to patients.

The European Medicines Agency is determined to minimize opposition to its next moves on releasing clinical trial data.

Pharma has operated the same way for 100 years, but the US healthcare model has changed completely in the last 30 years, for payers, pharmacists, hospitals, and even at the clinician level.

It was recently said, in reference to the UK’s Value-Based Assessment(VBA) program, that innovation had not been “tried and tested in the pricing context”.

Few would argue with the desirability of innovation - something new, something that delivers value.

The new Internet Library from the European Patients’ Academy (EUPATI) will come online towards the end of 2015.

In 1995, there were 16 million internet users - or 0.4% of the world’s population. In just 17 years, this figure has grown to 2.4 billion and 34.3% adoption.

Patient adherence to medicine is the eternal puzzle for big Pharma: what combinations of financial incentives, personalized interventions, and just good information work best to push down that stubborn 50 per cent abandonment threshold after six months of treatment?

Recent Congressional investigations over the pricing scheme of Gilead’s much-heralded hepatitis C drug Sovaldi

The air of despondency that is descending over the pharmaceutical industry’s use of social media is perverse.

In January 2013, FDA told manufacturers to lower the dose of zolpidem, the insomnia treatment, for women, and suggested a 10 mg to 5 mg for immediate-release products (Ambien, Edluar, and Zolpimist) and from 12.5 mg to 6.25 mg for extended-release products (Ambien CR).

Peter Houston looks at the pharma marketing takeaways from last week’s Digital Innovation Summit.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has finally published the formal consultation on value-based assessment (VBA).

With the introduction of every new technology, tactic, or gimmick comes what I call a tactical scrum. It’s like watching young kids play their first game of T-ball or soccer.

Dr. Greg Koski of the Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety (ACRES) talks to Moe Alsumidaie of Applied Clinical Trials about the urgent need for change in the clinical research industry.

The European pharmaceutical industry is changing its approach to R&D and is increasingly relying on outsourcing for drug discovery, writes Faiz Kermani.

Cuts in healthcare costs due to post-recession austerity programs mean favorable Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) are becoming crucial to the successful market launch of pharmaceuticals in Europe.

It is nowadays fashionable to question everyone in authority, and there is no shortage of self-appointed watchdogs who aim to make sure that things that happen are happening as they should.

It is tempting to imagine the use of the patient’s own mobile computing platform for collection of patient reported outcomes.

The initial proposals for Value Based Pricing (VBP) in the UK have evolved into something very different. There is now a focus on Value Based Assessment (VBA).

To believe the European Parliament, the battle to create new clinical trials rules for the European Union is over.

Centers for excellence (COE), offshore institutes set up by international organizations to maximize the effectiveness of national branches.

With SMEs gaining wider recognition as the powerhouse of research and innovation in Europe, regulatory agencies are urging companies to engage with regulators early in the drug-development process, writes Sean Milmo.

The headlines have moved on for the English Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). Replacing the positive press releases such as “thousands of patients to benefit” in 2013 are headlines shouting out that “thousands face being denied life-extending medication”.

By using digital signatures to eliminate paper from signature approval processes, pharmaceutical companies are achieving automated processes that are efficient and cost-effective without compromising security or compliance.

It is not only the specific issue of clinical trials rules that hangs in the balance as Europe shifts from 2013 to 2014.

Ten days in and the New Year already seems old. Yet members of our Pharm Exec Editorial Advisory Board are still eager to share their top of line predictions on trends that will shape the industry’s business and reputational assets.