CER Daily Newsfeed

Real-World Evidence Confirms the Benefits of JAK Inhibitors in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

(1/16, Brooke McCormick, The American Journal of Managed Care) reports “The real-world treatment benefit of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors among US patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was demonstrated across various observational studies, which focused on clinical disease activity changes, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and treatment adherence, persistence, and effectiveness.” Full

Insulin Prices Dropped. But Some Poor Patients Are Paying More.

(1/16, Katie Thomas, The New York Times) reports “...Under the 340B program, as it is called, companies typically sell their brand-name drugs to clinics at a discount, at 23 percent or more off the list price...But if a company raises a drug’s list price above the rate of inflation, a penalty kicks in, forcing it to offer even deeper discounts to the clinics...Manufacturers lowered the price of at least 77 drugs in 2023 and 2024...Once the pharmaceutical companies lowered their list prices, the inflation penalties evaporated. That meant community clinics had to start paying the usual discounts of 23 percent or more off the list price — far more than the pennies they used to pay.” Full

Pharma Digs in On Changes it Wants from Trump Administration

(1/16, Deena Beasley, Reuters) reports “...Steve Ubl, head of industry lobbying group PhRMA, said it's pushing for three PBM-related policies that it thinks would make a big difference for patients: de-linking PBM payments from list prices, passing rebates on to patients at the point of sale, and requiring PBMs to be more transparent about rebates and fees.” Full

ACO Growth Inches CMS Toward Value-Based Care Goal

(1/15, Bridget Early, Modern Healthcare) reports “...Accountable care participation rose 4.3% to 14.8 million people from 2024 to 2025, the largest annual increase since CMS started tracking these numbers. That amounts to 53.4% of fee-for-service beneficiaries, according to the agency...‘This progress demonstrates that when providers are empowered to manage costs and focus on outcomes, they can achieve high-quality outcomes and drive innovation,’ Aisha Pittman, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Association of ACOs, said...” Subscription Required

UK: Santhera’s Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Drug Agamree Accepted by SMC

(1/16, Emily Kimber, PMLiVE) reports “Santhera Pharmaceuticals’ Agamree (vamorolone) has been accepted by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in patients aged four years and older.” Full

UK’s MHRA To Offer Private Meetings For Innovative RWE Strategies

(1/16, Eliza Slawther, Pink Sheet) reports “...The MHRA’s new scientific dialog program will offer drug developers ‘closed-door meetings’ that will offer ‘confidential, commercially sensitive discussion’ with its staff to help them ‘refine’ their real-world evidence generation strategies.” Subscription Required

Exploring Real World Data in Germany

(1/16, Rob Swick, IQVIA Blog) comments “...German Real World Data can answer a wide range of research questions. For instance, it can provide information on population and disease characteristics, such as the prevalence and incidence of diseases, common comorbidities, disease progression, and diagnostic practices. It can also shed light on treatment outcomes and effectiveness, comparing different treatments in terms of survival rates and other endpoints.” Full