CMS Mandates Pharma to Disclose Drug Prices

Five Ways to Manage Your Trial Effectively in a Fast-Changing Global Environment

Article | March 11, 2020

Over the past half-century, clinical trials have grown increasingly complex. A flood of new data from novel sources combined with more elaborate study designs and tougher regulatory standards have lengthened timelines and hiked costs, contributing to a steady decline of efficiency. It all adds up: Nearly half of all drug launches underperform revenue expectations. And if that isn’t enough, the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide is having an effect on how life sciences companies operate their businesses, including how clinical trials are conducted. Most clinical trial research organizations have tried to adapt by tweaking a platform here, adding a new app there, but this has only yielded patchwork systems of sites, spreadsheets and dashboards that further burden the process.

Tips for Managing Chronic Pain Beyond Prescription Painkillers

Article | February 17, 2020

Painkillers like Oxycontin, Percocet, and Vicodin, have been prescribed by primary physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other healthcare providers to patients suffering from varying levels of pain. Though these medications have proven to be an effective source of pain relief, they have also proven to be highly addictive. In fact, it has even been reported that there are more cases of a drug overdose and deaths from prescription painkillers than heroin or cocaine. While there are a number of factors that play into this opioid epidemic, educating doctors and patients on alternative solutions to managing chronic pain is a great place to start combatting this nationwide crisis.

As Pandemic Continues, Rafael Pharmaceuticals Enrolls Patients in Phase III Pancreatic Cancer Trial

Article | April 17, 2020

That simple truth about the severity of the disease is one of the reasons that Rafael Pharmaceuticals is slowly continuing with a Phase III trial in metastatic pancreatic cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many companies have paused enrollment in clinical trials during the outbreak, Cranbury, N.J,-based Rafael opted to continue to enroll patients in its Phase III AVENGER 500 study of its lead compound CPI-613 (devimistat) in combination with modified Folfirinox (mFFX) as first-line therapy for the disease. Sanjeev Luther, president and chief executive officer of Rafael Pharmaceuticals, told BioSpace that the company made the decision to continue to enroll the trial, which was 75% filled, due to the short timeline patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer have. After discussing the matter of the trial with the company’s leadership team, Luther said they felt comfortable leaving the decision of whether or not the trial should continue to the conducting institute.

Pricing of drugs – at what cost?

Article | February 27, 2020

We go into a doctor’s office and leave with a diagnosis and a prescription. Next we stop by the pharmacy. In Germany, if your insurance is not private, you mostly don’t even know the price of your drug because it’s paid for directly by your insurance. You only notice the 5-10 Euros copay. But how is a drug priced in Germany? And (how) does data play a role in helping pharma secure an attractive price point? Let’s fast forward directly to the launch of a new drug. At the time of launch, the pharmaceutical company has to present patient level evidence of the drug’s added value compared to existing comparative therapies. In the first year, however, the drug’s price can be defined freely by the company.