Monthly Round-Up of What to Read on Pharma Law and Policy

By Ameet Sarpatwari and Aaron S. Kesselheim

Each month, members of the Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) review the peer-reviewed medical literature to identify interesting empirical studies, in-depth analyses, and thoughtful editorials on pharmaceutical law and policy.

Below are the papers identified from the month of January. The selections feature topics ranging from the relationship between pharmaceutical marketing and innovation, to an analysis of off-label promotion rulings by the United Kingdom Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, to the trends in direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription pharmaceuticals. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

  1. Arnold DG, Troyer JL. Does Increased Spending on Pharmaceutical Marketing Inhibit Pioneering Innovation? J Health Polit Policy Law. 2016 Jan 5. [Epub ahead of print].
  2. Barbour V, Burch D, Godlee F, Heneghan C, Lehman R, Perera R, Ross JS, Schroter S. Characterisation of trials where marketing purposes have been influential in study design: a descriptive study. Jan;17(1):31.
  3. Choudhry NK, Denberg TD, Qaseem A; Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians. Improving Adherence to Therapy and Clinical Outcomes While Containing Costs: Opportunities From the Greater Use of Generic Medications: Best Practice Advice From the Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2016;164(1):41-9.
  4. Greene JA, Anderson G, Sharfstein JM. Role of the FDA in Affordability of Off-Patent Pharmaceuticals. 2016 Jan 4. [Epub ahead of print].
  5. Kesselheim AS, Hwang TJ. Breakthrough Medical Devices and the 21st Century Cures Act. Ann Intern Med. 2016 Jan 19. [Epub ahead of print].
  6. Lieberman DA, Polinski JM, Choudhry NK, Avorn J, Fischer MA. Medicaid prescription limits: policy trends and comparative impact on utilization. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016;16(1):15.
  7. Vilhelmsson A, Davis C, Mulinari S. Pharmaceutical Industry Off-label Promotion and Self-regulation: A Document Analysis of Off-label Promotion Rulings by the United Kingdom Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority 2003-2012. PLoS Med. 2016;13(1):e1001945.
  8. Wu MH, Bartz D, Avorn J, Seeger JD. Trends in Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Contraceptives. 2016 Jan 22. [Epub ahead of print].

Ameet Sarpatwari

Ameet Sarpatwari is an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an Associate Epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Assistant Director of the Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) within the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics. His research draws upon his interdisciplinary training as an epidemiologist and lawyer and focuses on the effects of laws and regulations on therapeutic development, approval, use, and related public health outcomes.

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