‘Patient’ should be considered as the centre for any healthcare system. There is growing realization for the patient-centered healthcare system. The outcomes of a clinical intervention obtained by the patient i.e. patient-reported outcomes (PROs) seemed to be of more importance in coming years than any other outcomes like clinical, physiological or caregiver-reported. The US Food […]
India is a vast tropical country extending from 8.4º N latitude to 37.6° N latitude, with majority of its population living in areas receiving ample sunlight throughout the year. Enough sunlight is necessary for the body to synthesize Vitamin D, which is naturally present in very few foods. Hence, it is hard to believe that […]
The growing cost of discovery and development of orphan drugs is having an overall impact on the patient access to orphan medicines. Orphan drugs, which are usually not covered by insurance systems are inaccessible to patients due to their high cost, and even when they are covered, patient cost-sharing (through co-payments or coinsurance) can still […]
Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) refers to the combination of drugs that includes two or more active pharmaceutical ingredient combined in a single dosage form which is manufactured and distributed in fixed doses. Clinical experts believe that these combinations are irrational and launched into the market, devoid of any substantiation. According to the experts, these combinations […]
On the eve of “World Rare Disease Day” today, February 29, 2016 (the rarest day of the year), I planned to post a two series blog post on “Orphan Drug Pricing and Reimbursement” During 1970, individual patients and volunteer healthcare organizations began lobbying for legislation to encourage the development of therapies for rare diseases. The […]
Medical devices may well sound like a modern invention but they have helped us control and treat diseases for centuries. Medical gadgets play a considerable role in our lives, many of them so ubiquitous that we at times take them for granted. Some of the examples for such medical devices include clinical thermometer, hypodermic needle, […]
The high cost of pharmaceuticals, especially biologics, has become an important issue in the battle to control healthcare costs. In order to overcome this impediment, biosimilar unlike generics were first marketed in Europe in the year 2007. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which includes the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA), defines biosimilar as having […]
Drugs which might seem very effective in clinical trials, sometimes fail in the market due to non compliance and acceptability issues from the patients. On the other hand, a drug with known and serious side effects is sometimes well accepted by the population, despite the risk involved. An eye opener in this regard is […]
To most connected with the pharmaceutical industry, it is a common knowledge that the cost of prescription medicine, even traditionally, has always defied the law of gravity. However; what is alarming today is the steep increase in the cost of specialty drugs that target everything from multiple sclerosis to cancer, blood pressure, and even erectile […]
