CER Daily Newsfeed

Smart Money Bets on Value | Predictions for 2025

(1/13, Kimberly Westrich, M.A., Managed Healthcare Executive) comments “My big prediction for 2025 is that value will play an increasingly important role in healthcare conversations. One place this will play out is in conversations about the Medicare Prescription Drug Negotiation Program. They will center not only around the unintended consequences of the program for patients but also about whether CMS is thinking about value as [it implements] the program and particularly as CMS releases the concise justifications for the first round of set prices.” Full

Value Viewpoint: January 10, 2025

(1/10, Kimberly Westrich, LinkedIn) comments “Earlier this week, ICER announced it will assess the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of apitegromab for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), including an assessment of new evidence for nusinersen and onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi, which were assessed previously (see ICER’s 2019 Final Evidence Report) as well as the evidence for risdiplam (which was not evaluated as a part of the 2019 report).” Full

Nonopioid Combination More Effective Than Opioids at Managing Postsurgical Pain

(1/13, Killian Meara, Drug Topics) reports “A combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen was more effective at managing pain following impacted mandibular third-molar extraction surgery compared to hydrocodone, new study data published in the Journal of the American Dental Association found. The study authors said that the findings support the use of ibuprofen and acetaminophen as first-line therapy for acute pain management.” Full

Meta-Analysis Confirms Efficacy of Small Molecules for Psoriatic Arthritis

(1/10, Victoria Johnson, HCPLive) reports “Four small molecule drugs, apremilast, deucravacitinib, tofacitinib, and upadacitinib, exhibited superior efficacy and comparable safety to placebo in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in a recent meta-analysis, with deucravacitinib and upadacitinib showing modest superiority over the others.” Full

PhRMA Asks Court for Quick Win in Revived US Drug Price Suit

(1/13, Nyah Phengsitthy, Bloomberg Law) reports “...The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, along with co-plaintiffs the National Infusion Center Association and the Global Colon Cancer Association, is urging the US District Court for the Western District of Texas to agree with its claims that the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is unconstitutional.” Subscription Required

Game-Changing EU-Level HTA Regs Must Allow For Lessons To Be Learned

(1/13, Francesca Bruce, Pink Sheet) reports “...The landmark Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Regulation and the EU-level joint clinical assessments (JCAs) that represent a huge shift in the region’s pricing and reimbursement landscape became applicable on 12 January. The pharmaceutical industry says that any kinks in the new system must be ironed out as quickly as possible, even ahead of the 2028 planned review of the procedures.” Subscription Required