CER Daily Newsfeed

The Comparative Effectiveness Research Daily Newsfeed®, known for short as the CER Daily Newsfeed®, offers the latest news, research and related information on comparative effectiveness research, real-world data and evidence, value assessment and other important health care topics. 

News from Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Articles

Could a Fight Over Cost-Effectiveness Upend Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Before it's Begun?

(3/28, Sarah Owermohle, STAT Plus) reports “...Asked this week if PCORI sees a role for its research in Medicare’s upcoming pricing model, a spokesperson said, ‘We post results of all PCORI-funded research on our website and make them readily available and searchable to all stakeholders, including agencies such as CMS, to help advance evidence-based decisions about health and health care.’...PCORI is planning to fund more studies on maternal and infant mortality, as well as mental health and intellectual disabilities. Head-to-head drug research isn’t mentioned. But if the nation’s largest comparative effectiveness group — and its 30-million strong data pool — can’t help Medicare determine drugs’ value, researchers wonder who, or what, can.” Paid Subscription Required

 

Pharmacy-Benefit Managers Accused of Price Fixing by Ohio Attorney General

(3/27, Jared S. Hopkins, The Wall Street Journal) reports “...The lawsuit filed Monday by the Ohio attorney general in a state court alleges Cigna Group, Humana Inc. and Prime Therapeutics LLC shared pricing and other information gathered by a Swiss subsidiary to gain leverage during negotiations with drugmakers for rebates. The companies restricted coverage of some insulins and other medicines due to the collusion, the lawsuit said. If they didn't get the desired rebate, the companies wouldn't pay for the drugs or would favor competitors, the lawsuit said.” Paid Subscription Required

 

Prescription for Better U.S. Health Care Spending: Four Areas to Consider

(3/28, Richard Payerchin, Medical Economics) comments “...The [Health Affairs Council On Health Care Spending And Value] evaluated prices, volume, appropriate mix of care, and growth, noting recommendations must address all four to be effective. There is no single intervention that will solve the problem, but multiple recommendations with numerous entities are needed, the report said. The recommendations are...Continue evaluating value-based payment models based on a limited number of models, stronger incentives for patients to use them, and increased flexibility in treating and managing patients for physicians and hospitals.” Full

Press Releases

PCORI Approves $123 Million for Research on Postpartum Care, Hypertension Management, Antibiotic Prescribing and a Range of Conditions

(3/28, PCORI Press Release) “The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute today announced funding awards totaling $123 million to support 15 new research studies. These studies aim to fill evidence gaps, enhance research methods, or improve health care decision making for a range of high-burden concerns among adults and children, including postpartum complications occurring in populations experiencing the greatest disparities in health outcomes.” Full

 

UT Southwestern Approved for $18 Million for Multicenter Trial to Improve Postpartum Care

(3/28, UT Southwestern Medical Center Press Release) “...The study will employ two models of care to determine which one results in earlier detection and treatment of complications among mothers after delivery. One group will receive virtual education and communication via push notifications; the other will have regular telehealth visits. ‘The study will determine the best way to use technology to improve access to maternal health care and decrease complications after birth,’ said Elaine Duryea, M.D...” Full

 

UChicago Medicine Accepted into National Initiative to Accelerate Putting Patient-Care Research into Action

(3/28, University of Chicago Medical Center Press Release) “...‘It takes a broad effort to speed up the research-to-practice timeline,’ said Heather Himelhoch, PhD, MPH...Strategies to put patient-care protocols into action might involve technology, training, evaluation and more, Himelhoch said. ‘It's a completely different skill set to start to think about how the system functions as a complex organism compared to traditional improvement approaches,’ Himelhoch said. ‘We have to be really thoughtful and apply that system science approach to “how are we going to do this? How do we do better?” The whole purpose of this is to close the implementation gap.’” Full

 

Cardiff Oncology Announces First Patient Dosed in ONSEMBLE Phase 2 Randomized Trial of Onvansertib in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

(3/28, Cardiff Oncology Press Release) “Cardiff Oncology, Inc...today announced that the first patient was dosed this month with its investigational drug onvansertib in its Phase 2 ONSEMBLE trial (NCT05593328). The trial is designed to demonstrate a clinically meaningful difference in response and onvansertib's contribution to standard of care (SoC) FOLFIRI/bevacizumab for the second line treatment of patients with KRAS/NRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).” Full

 

DARWIN EU® Has Completed its First Studies and Is Calling for New Data Partners

(3/28, European Medicines Agency Press Release) “DARWIN EU®, the Data Analysis and Real-World Interrogation Network, has accomplished its first year of establishment. Following the set-up of the DARWIN EU® Coordination Centre in February 2022, the first ten data partners were onboarded. The network also initiated its first four studies using real-world data (RWD) from across Europe to better understand diseases, populations and the uses and effects of medicines.” Full

Journals

Estimating Individualized Treatment Effects from Randomized Controlled Trials: A Simulation Study to Compare Risk-Based Approaches

Alexandros Rekkas, et al.

March 28, 2023, BMC Medical Research Methodology

BMC Medical Research Methodology