close up of an open book

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

By Ameet Sarpatwari, Charlie Lee, Frazer Tessema, 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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from the month of December. The selections feature topics ranging from potential Medicare savings on inhaler prescriptions through use of negotiated prices and a defined formulary, to evaluation of the REMS for extended-release/long-acting opioids, to the costs of medication non-adherence in adults with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the US. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website. Read More

Stack of colorful books in front of a wood paneled wall

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

By Ameet Sarpatwari, Charlie Lee, Frazer Tessema, 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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from the month of September. The selections feature topics ranging from the contributions of academia and industry to lung cancer survival gains, to the savings from the EpiPen authorized generic, to the association between FDA advisory committee recommendations and agency actions. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

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Photograph of a gavel and three open books

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

By Ameet Sarpatwari, Charlie Lee, Frazer Tessema, 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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

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Photograph of a stack of magazines on a chair

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

By Ameet Sarpatwari, Charlie Lee, Frazer Tessema, 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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from the month of July. The selections feature topics ranging from the price increases of protected-class drugs in Medicare Part D, to the impact of price regulation on the availability of new drugs in Germany, to the association between FDA advisory committee recommendations and agency actions. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

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Photograph of a stack of magazines on a chair

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

By Ameet Sarpatwari, Frazer Tessema, 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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from the month of June. The selections feature topics ranging from premarket development times for biologics versus small-molecule drugs, to the characteristics of trials and regulatory pathways leading to U.S. approval of innovative vs. non-innovative drugs, to generic and brand-name thyroid hormone drug use among commercially insured and Medicaid beneficiaries. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

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

By Ameet Sarpatwari, Michael S. Sinha, 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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from the month of August. The selections feature topics ranging from the characteristics of pre- and post-approval studies for drugs granted accelerated approval by the FDA, to a review of policy options to reduce brand-name drug prices, to characteristics of clinical studies used for FDA approval of high-risk medical device supplements. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

  1. Reducing Branded Prescription Drug Prices: A Review of Policy Options. Alexander GC, Ballreich J, Socal MP, Karmarkar T, Trujillo A, Greene J, Sharfstein J, Anderson G. Pharmacotherapy. 2017 Aug 14. [Epub ahead of print]
  2. High Generic Drug Prices and Market Competition: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Dave CV, Kesselheim AS, Fox ER, Qiu P, Hartzema A. Ann Intern Med. 2017 Aug 1;167(3):145-151.
  3. Impact of the Black Triangle Label on Prescribing of New Drugs in the United Kingdom: Lessons for the United States at a Time of Deregulation. Horton DB, Gerhard T, Davidow A, Strom BL. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2017 Aug 31. [Epub ahead of print]
  4. Effect of US Food and Drug Administration’s Cardiovascular Safety Guidance on Diabetes Drug Development. Hwang TJ, Franklin JM, Kesselheim AS. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2017 Aug;102(2):290-296.
  5. Characteristics of Preapproval and Postapproval Studies for Drugs Granted Accelerated Approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. Naci H, Smalley KR, Kesselheim AS. JAMA. 2017 Aug 15;318(7):626-636.
  6. Health Insurance Coverage and Health – What the Recent Evidence Tells Us. Sommers BD, Gawande AA, Baicker K. N Eng J Med. 2017 Aug 10;377(6):586-593.
  7. Characteristics of Clinical Studies Used for US Food and Drug Administration Approval of High-Risk Medical Device Supplements. Zheng SY, Dhruva SS, Redberg RF. JAMA. 2017 Aug 15;318(7):619-625.

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

By Ameet Sarpatwari, Michael S. Sinha, 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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from the month of July. The selections feature topics ranging from the characteristics of expanded access programs, to the association of the priority review voucher with neglected tropical disease drug and vaccine development, to the use of surrogate outcomes in oncology. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

  1. Bonnie RJ, Kesselheim AS, Clark DJ. Both Urgency and Balance Needed in Addressing Opioid Epidemic: A Report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017 Jul 13. [E-pub ahead of print]
  2. Fralick M, Avorn J, Kesselheim AS. The Price of Crossing the Border for Medications. N Engl J Med. 2017;377(4):311-313.
  3. Hwang TJ, Kesselheim AS, Sarpatwari A. Value-Based Pricing and State Reform of Prescription Drug Costs. 2017 Jul 10. [E-pub ahead of print]
  4. Jain N, Hwang TJ, Franklin JM, Kesselheim AS. Association of the Priority Review Voucher with Neglected Tropical Disease Drug and Vaccine Development. 2017;318(4):388-389.
  5. Kemp R, Prasad V. Surrogate Endpoints in Oncology: When Are They Acceptable for Regulatory and Clinical Decisions, and Are They Currently Overused? BMC Med. 2017;15(1):134.
  6. Miller JE, Ross JS, Moch KI, Caplan AL. Characterizing Expanded Access and Compassionate Use Programs for Experimental Drugs. BMC Res Notes. 2017;10(1):350.
  7. Phillips AT, Desai NR, Krumholz HM, Zou CX, Miller JE, Ross JS. Association of the FDA Amendment Act with Trial Registration, Publication, and Outcome Reporting. 2017;18(1):333.

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

By Ameet SarpatwariMichael S. Sinha, 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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from the month of June. The selections feature topics ranging from physicians’ views of the Sunshine Act; to a biomarker-based drug development case study of CETP inhibitors, to the potential return on public investment in detecting adverse drug effects. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

  1. Chimonas S, DeVito NJ, Rothman DJ. Bringing Transparency to Medicine: Exploring Physicians’ Views and Experiences of the Sunshine Act. Am J Bioeth. 2017;17(6):4-18.
  2. Dong K, Boehm G, Zheng Q. Economic Impacts of the Generic Drug User Fee Act Fee Structure. Value Health. 2017;20(6):792-8.
  3. Hey SP, Franklin JM, Avorn J, Kesselheim AS. Success, Failure, and Transparency in Biomarker-Based Drug Development: A Case Study of Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein Inhibitors. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2017;10(6).
  4. Huybrechts KF, Kesai RJ, Park M, Gagne JJ, Najafzadeh M, Avorn J. The Potential Return on Public Investment in Detecting Adverse Drug Effects. Med Care. 2017;55(6):545-51.
  5. Sommers BD, Maylone B, Blendon RJ, Orav EJ, Epstein AM. Three-Year Impacts Of The Affordable Care Act: Improved Medical Care And Health Among Low-Income Adults. Health Aff (Millwood). 2017;36(6):1119-28.
  6. ‘t Hoen EFM, Boulet P, Baker BK. Data exclusivity exceptions and compulsory licensing to promote generic medicines in the European Union: A proposal for greater coherence in European pharmaceutical legislation. J Pharm Policy Pract. 2017;10:19.

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

By Ameet Sarpatwari, Michael S. Sinha, 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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from the month of May. The selections feature topics ranging from post-approval safety events among novel drugs approved between 2001 and 2010, to the failure of the Alzheimer’s drug Solanezumab, to the three-year impacts of the Affordable Care Act among low-income adults. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

  1. Downing NS, Shah ND, Aminawung JA, Pease AM, Zeitoun JD, Krumholz HM, Ross JS. Postmarket safety events among novel therapeutics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration between 2001 and 2010. JAMA. 2017 May 9;317(18):1854-1863.
  2. Gellad WF, Kesselheim AS. Accelerated approval and expensive drugs – a challenging combination. N Engl J Med. 2017 May 25;376(21):2001-2004.
  3. Pease AM, Krumholz HM, Downing NS, Aminawung JA, Shah ND, Ross JS. Postapproval studies of drugs initially approved by the FDA on the basis of limited evidence: systematic review. BMJ. 2017 May 3;357:j1680.
  4. Sacks CA, Avorn J, Kesselheim AS. The failure of Solanezumab – how the FDA saved taxpayers billions. N Engl J Med. 2017 May 4;376(18):1706-1708.
  5. Sommers BD, Maylone B, Blendon RJ, Orav EJ, Epstein AM. Three-year impacts of the Affordable Care Act: improved medical care and health among low-income adults. Health Aff (Millwood). 2017 Jun 1;36(6):1119-1128.

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, policy analyses, and editorials on health law and policy issues relevant to current or potential future work in the Division.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from the month of April. The selections feature topics ranging from the effect of a shortage of baclle Calmette-Guérin (BCG) on treatment costs for bladder cancer, to a comparison of regulatory review of new therapeutic agents by the FDA and the EMA, to the impact of CVS pharmacy’s discontinuance of tobacco sales on cigarette purchasing. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

  1. Davies BJ, Hwang TJ, Kesselheim AS. Ensuring Access to Injectable Generic Drugs – The Case of Intravesical BCG for Bladder Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(15):1401-3.
  2. Downing NS, Zhang AD, Ross JS. Regulatory Review of New Therapeutic Agents – FDA versus EMA, 2011-2015. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(14):1386-7.
  3. Fralick M, Kesselheim AS. FDA Approval of Desmopressin for Nocturia. JAMA. 2017 Apr 6. [Epub ahead of print]
  4. Gyawali B, Prasad V. Drugs that Lack Single-Agent Activity: Are They Worth Pursuing in Combination? Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2017;14(4):193-4.
  5. Polinski JM, Howell B, Gagnon MA, Kymes SM, Brennan TA, Shrank WH. Impact of CVS Pharmacy’s Discontinuance of Tobacco Sales on Cigarette Purchasing (2012-2014). Am J Public Health. 2017;107(4):556-62.
  6. Sharfstein J. Déjà Vu at the FDA. Milbank Q. 2017 Apr 4. [Epub ahead of print]