Category: Ameet Sarpatwari

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 March.  The selections feature topics ranging from the reporting compliance of trial results to ClinicalTrials.gov, to the impact of risk evaluation and mitigation strategy-mandated medication guides on patient knowledge, to the cost-effectiveness of the novel hepatitis C virus medications.  A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

1. Anderson ML, Chiswell K, Peterson ED, Tasneem A, Topping J, Califf RM. Compliance with results reporting at ClinicalTrials.gov. N Engl J Med. 2015 Mar 12;372(11):1031-1039.
2. Gopal AD, Desai NR, Tse T, Ross JS. Reporting of noninferiority trials in ClinicalTrials.gov and corresponding publications. JAMA. 2015 Mar 17;313(11):1163-1165.
3. Greene JA, Riggs KR. Why is there no generic insulin? Historical origins of a modern problem. N Engl J Med. 2015 Mar 19;372(12):1171-1175.
4. Kesselheim AS, Polinski JM, Fulchino LA, Isaman DL, Gagne JJ. Modified Regulatory Pathways to Approve Generic Drugs in the US and a Systematic Review of Their Outcomes. Drugs. 2015 Mar 31. [Epub ahead of print]
5. Knox C, Hampp C, Willy M, Winterstein AG, Pan GD. Patient understanding of drug risks: an evaluation of medication guide assessments. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2015 Mar 23. [Epub ahead of print]
6. Najafzadeh M, Andersson K, Shrank WH, Krumme AA, Matlin OS, Brennan T, Avorn J, Choudhry NK. Cost-effectiveness of novel regimens for the treatment of hepatitis C virus. Ann Intern Med. 2015 Mar 17;162(6):407-419.
7. Parekh A, Buckman-Garner S, McCune S, ONeill R, Geanacopoulos M, Amur S, Clingman C, Barratt R, Rocca M, Hills I, Woodcock J. Catalyzing the critical path initiative: FDA’s progress in drug development activities. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2015 Mar;97(3):221-233.
8. Sarpatwari A, Choudhry NK, Avorn J, Kesselheim AS. Paying physicians to prescribe generic drugs and follow-on biologics in the United States. PLoS Med. 2015 Mar 17;12(3):e1001802.
9. Weissman JS, Westrich K, Hargraves JL, Pearson SD, Dubois R, Emond S, Olufajo OA. Translating comparative effectiveness research into Medicaid payment policy: views from medical and pharmacy directors. J Comp Eff Res. 2015 Mar;4(2):79-88.

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 February.  The selections feature topics ranging from an underreporting of deviations from good clinical practice in peer-reviewed medical journals, to the impact of risk evaluation and mitigation strategies on off-label prescribing, to repairing the broken market for antibiotic innovation.  A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

1. Chambers JD, Chenoweth M, Cangelosi MJ, Pyo J, Cohen JT, Neumann PJ. Medicare is scrutinizing evidence more tightly for national coverage determinations. Health Aff (Millwood). 2015 Feb 1;34(2):253-260.
2. Falit BP, Singh SC, Brennan TA. Biosimilar competition in the United States: statutory incentives, payers, and pharmacy benefit managers. Health Aff (Millwood). 2015 Feb 1;34(2):294-301.
3. Hwang CS, Turner LW, Kruszewski SP, Kolodny A, Alexander GC. Prescription drug abuse: a national survey of primary care physicians. JAMA Intern Med. 2015 Feb 1;175(2):302-304.
4. Kesselheim AS, Tan YT, Avorn J. The roles of academia, rare diseases, and repurposing in the development of the most transformative drugs. Health Aff (Millwood). 2015 Feb 1;34(2):286-293.
5. Outterson K, Powers JH, Daniel GW, McClellan MB. Repairing the broken market for antibiotic innovation. Health Aff (Millwood). 2015 Feb 1;34(2):277-285.
6. Rising JP, Moscovitch B. Characteristics of pivotal trials and FDA review of innovative devices. PLoS One. 2015 Feb 4;10(2):e0117235.
7. Sarpatwari A, Franklin J, Avorn J, Seeger J, Landon J, Kesselheim A. Are risk evaluation and mitigation strategies associated with less off-label use of medications? The case of immune thrombocytopenia. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2015 Feb;97(2):186-193.

8. Seife C. Research misconduct identified by the US Food and Drug Administration: Out of sight, out of mind, out of the peer-reviewed literature. JAMA Intern Med. 2015 Feb 9. [Epub ahead of print]

9. Wang B, Liu J, Kesselheim AS. Variations in Time of Market Exclusivity Among Top-Selling Prescription Drugs in the United States. JAMA Intern Med. 2015 Feb 9. [Epub ahead of print]
10. Zetterqvist AV, Merlo J, Mulinari S. Complaints, complainants, and rulings regarding drug promotion in the United kingdom and sweden 2004-2012: a quantitative and qualitative study of pharmaceutical industry self-regulation. PLoS Med. 2015 Feb 17;12(2):e1001785.

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 trend in lag-time between FDA approval of drugs and published cost-utility evidence; to practical, legal, and ethical issues with expanded access to investigational drugs; to the use of tiered formularies to discriminate against patients with HIV in the federal marketplace.  A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

1. Aliferis L. Variation in prices for various medical tests and procedures. JAMA Intern Med. 2015 Jan 1;175(1):11-12.
2. Chambers JD, Thorat T, Pyo J, Neumann PJ. The lag from FDA approval to published cost-utility evidence. Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res. 2015 Jan 12:1-4.
3. Darrow JJ, Sarpatwari A, Avorn J, Kesselheim AS. Practical, legal, and ethical issues in expanded access to investigational drugs. New Eng J Med. 2015 Jan 15;372(3):279-286.
4. Drazen JM. Sharing individual patient data from clinical trials. New Eng J Med. 2015 Jan 15;372(3):201-202.
5. Jacobs DB, Sommers BD. Using drugs to discriminate—adverse selection in the insurance marketplace. New Eng J Med. 2015 Jan 29;372(5):399-402.
6. Moses H 3rd, Matheson DH, Cairns-Smith S, George BP, Palisch C, Dorsey ER. The anatomy of medical research: US and international comparisons. BMJ. 2015 Jan 28;350:h522. JAMA. 2015 Jan 13;313(2):174-189.
7. Rajan PV, Kramer DB, Kesselheim AS. Medical device postapproval safety monitoring: where does the United States stand? Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2015 Jan;8(1):124-131.
8. Ryskina KL, Halpern SD, Minyanou NS, Goold SD, Tilburt JC. The Role of Training Environment Care Intensity in US Physician Cost Consciousness. Mayo Clin Proc. 2015 Jan 26. pii: S0025-6196(14)01083-1090.
9. Sharfstein J. FDA Regulation of Laboratory-Developed Diagnostic Tests: Protect the Public, Advance the Science. JAMA. 2015 Jan 5. [Epub ahead of print]

By Ameet Sarpatwari and Aaron S. Kesselheim

Each month, the Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School reviews 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 November. The selections feature topics ranging from the use of e-prescribing defaults to promote physician prescribing of generic drugs, to the characteristics of post-approval studies of medical devices ordered by the FDA, to a comparison of existing and emerging accelerated access pathways in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Singapore. A full posting of abstracts/summaries of these articles may be found on our website.

1. Alpern JD, Stauffer WM, Kesselheim AS. High-cost generic drugs–implications for patients and policymakers. N Engl J Med. 2014 Nov 13;371(20):1859-62.
2. Baird LG, Banken R, Eichler HG, Kristensen FB, Lee DK, Lim JC, Lim R, Longson C, Pezalla E, Salmonson T, Samaha D, Tunis S, Woodcock J, Hirsch G. Accelerated access to innovative medicines for patients in need. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2014 Nov;96(5):559-71.
3. Becker JE, Ross JS. Reporting Discrepancies Between the ClinicalTrials.gov Results Database and Peer-Reviewed Publications. Ann Intern Med. 2014 Nov 18;161(10):760.
4. Gagne JJ, Thompson L, O’Keefe K, Kesselheim AS. Innovative research methods for studying treatments for rare diseases: methodological review. BMJ. 2014 Nov 24;349:g6802.
5. Lexchin J. Postmarket safety warnings for drugs approved in Canada under the Notice ofCompliance with conditions policy. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2014 Nov 12. [Epub ahead of print]
6. Manz C, Ross JS, Grande D. Marketing to physicians in a digital world. N Engl J Med. 2014 Nov 13;371(20):1857-9.
7. Patel MS, Day S, Small DS, Howell JT 3rd, Lautenbach GL, Nierman EH, Volpp KG. Using Default Options Within the Electronic Health Record to Increase the Prescribing of Generic-Equivalent Medications: A Quasi-experimental Study. Ann Intern Med. 2014 Nov 18;161(10 Suppl):S44-52.
8. Reynolds IS, Rising JP, Coukell AJ, Paulson KH, Redberg RF. Assessing the Safety and Effectiveness of Devices After US Food and Drug Administration Approval: FDA-Mandated Postapproval Studies. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Nov 1;174(11):1773-9.
9. Vermeer NS, Spierings I, Mantel-Teeuwisse AK, Straus SM, Giezen TJ, Leufkens HG, Egberts TC, De Bruin ML. Traceability of biologicals: present challenges in pharmacovigilance. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2014 Nov 5:1-10. [Epub ahead of print]
10. Woloshin S, Schwartz LM, Frankel B, Faerber A. US Food and Drug Administration and design of drug approval studies. JAMA. 2014 Nov 26;312(20):2163-5.

By Ameet Sarpatwari and Aaron S. Kesselheim

Each month, the Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School reviews the peer-reviewed medical literature to identify interesting empirical studies, in-depth analyses, and thoughtful editorials on pharmaceutical law and policy.  We are thrilled to announce that PORTAL (specifically Aaron Kesselheim and Ameet Sarpatwari) will being posting these curated round-ups at Bill of Health each month, with a full posting including abstracts/summaries at their website.

Below are the abstracts/summaries for papers identified from October.  The selections feature topics ranging from the cost-utility of specialty drugs, to the association between financial conflicts of interest and favorable assessments of newer influenza treatments, to the clinical evidence supporting biomarker testing reported in FDA drug labels.  We thank Lara Maggs and Nazleen Khan for their contributions to this review.

1. Chambers JD, Thorat T, Pyo J, Chenoweth M, Neumann PJ. Despite high costs, specialty drugs may offer value for money comparable to that of traditional drugs. Health Aff (Millwood). 2014 Oct 1;33(10):1751-60.
2. Chang CQ, Tingle SR, Filipski KK, Khoury MJ, Lam TK, Schully SD, Ioannidis JP. An overview of recommendations and translational milestones for genomic tests in cancer. Genet Med. 2014 Oct 23. [Epub ahead of print]
3. Dunn AG, Arachi D, Hudgins J, Tsafnat G, Coiera E, Bourgeois FT. Financial conflicts of interest and conclusions about neuraminidase inhibitors for influenza: an analysis of systematic reviews. Ann Intern Med. 2014 Oct 7;161(7):513-8.
4. Kesselheim AS, Tan YT, Darrow JJ, Avorn J. Existing FDA pathways have potential to ensure early access to, and appropriate use of, specialty drugs. Health Aff (Millwood). 2014 Oct 1;33(10):1770-8.
5. Miladinovic B, Kumar A, Mhaskar R, Djulbegovic B. Benchmarks for detecting ‘breakthroughs’ in clinical trials: empirical assessment of the probability of large treatment effects using kernel density estimation. BMJ Open. 2014 Oct 21;4(10):e005249.
6. Naci H, Alexander GC. Regulators should better leverage effectiveness standards to enhance drug value. Pharmacotherapy. 2014 Oct;34(10):1005-11.
7. Sarpatwari A, Kesselheim AS, Malin BA, Gagne JJ, Schneeweiss S. Ensuring patient privacy in data sharing for postapproval research. N Engl J Med. 2014 Oct 23;371(17):1644-9.
8. Starner CI, Alexander GC, Bowen K, Qiu Y, Wickersham PJ, Gleason PP. Specialty drug coupons lower out-of-pocket costs and may improve adherence at the risk of increasing premiums. Health Aff (Millwood). 2014 Oct 1;33(10):1761-9.
9. Wang B, Canestaro WJ, Choudhry NK.Clinical Evidence Supporting Pharmacogenomic Biomarker Testing Provided in US Food and Drug Administration Drug Labels.JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Oct 13. [Epub ahead of print]
10. Woodcock J. Paving the critical path of drug development: the CDER perspective. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2014 Oct 31;13(11):783-4.
11. Yeh JS, Austad KE, Franklin JM, Chimonas S, Campbell EG, Avorn J, Kesselheim AS. Association of medical students’ reports of interactions with the pharmaceutical and medical device industries and medical school policies and characteristics: a cross-sectional study. PLoS Med. 2014 Oct 14;11(10):e1001743.