CER Daily Newsfeed

Mitigating Barriers to Cell and Gene Therapy Access

(2/14, Rose McNulty, The American Journal of Managed Care) reports “...‘There is not enough discussion around the obstacles that patients encounter in just about every stage of their cell and gene treatment journey,’ Brian Sils, NPC research consultant and one of the paper’s authors, said in a statement. ‘This report helps decision-makers better understand what patients are experiencing throughout this process. We can then have an informed conversation about how to help patients reach their full potential through these transformative therapies.’” Full

RFK Jr. Confirmed As HHS Secretary: Here's How Pharma Might Be Impacted

(2/13, Lecia Bushak, MM+M) reports “...At face value, Kennedy has appeared to align more closely with progressives on drug pricing issues than industry-friendly conservatives. He has repeated the argument common among drug pricing reform advocates that Americans shouldn't be paying more than other countries for the same drugs. Additionally, he has singled out Big Pharma companies as being too closely intertwined with the federal agencies that regulate them.” Full

EU Reshapes HTAs: Is the Industry Ready for it?

(2/14, Akosua Mireku, Pharmaceutical Technology) reports “...The aim with the new HTA directive is to drive efficiency because it allows for a single HTA process, where previously each individual Member State would do it separately, says Stephen Reese, co-head of the Healthcare and Life Sciences sector at the London, UK office of Clifford Chance. ‘If it works the way we hope, it should deliver some cost savings, particularly for the pharmaceutical industry,’ says Reese.” Full

Belgium Leading New ‘One-Stop Shop’ for Medicines, Simplifying Pharma Market

(2/14, Nicole Verbeeck, Euractiv) reports “...[Pedro Facon, Vice President of Belgian National Institute for Healthcare and Disability Insurance,] also addressed the collaborative nature of the HTA regulation, emphasising the need for shared resources across Member States: ‘Now, every country faces challenges in having sufficient capacity and expertise to conduct these evaluations.’ ‘The HTA regulation allows us to address large portions of this collectively at the European level - everything except, roughly speaking, the national willingness to pay.’ This collaborative approach, he explained, enables countries to pool resources, divide the workload, and focus on the most complex therapies.” Full