CER Daily Newsfeed

Bringing Systems Thinking To Drug Value Assessment

(3/11, Gigi Hirsch, Sharon Phares, Peter J. Neumann, Health Affairs Forefront) comments “...Cost-effectiveness analyses and budget-impact assessments that ignore real-world access barriers can themselves exacerbate barriers to access because they can distort coverage and pricing policies and diminish public trust...Recent initiatives such as ISPOR’s Living Health Technology Assessment and the Generalized Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (GCEA) framework are moving in the right direction by their inclusion of life-cycle considerations about clinical evidence and health system costs.” Full

Acalabrutinib Plus Venetoclax Superior to Chemoimmunotherapy in Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

(3/11, Alexandra Gerlach, Pharmacy Times) reports “Acalabrutinib (Calquence; AstaZeneca) plus venetoclax (Venclexta; AbbVie Inc) with or without obinutuzumab (Gazyva; Genentech) significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) compared with chemoimmunotherapy in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The positive results were achieved in the phase 3 AMPLIFY trial.” Full

JAK Inhibitors for Atopic Dermatitis Increase the Risk for Serious Infections

(3/11, Jessica Nye, PhD, Dermatology Advisor) reports “Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) who were treated with Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors had an increased risk for serious infection compared with those who received Th2 cytokine inhibitors, according to study results presented at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) 2025 Annual Meeting...” Full

A Path to Affordability, Access and Value in the Healthcare System

(3/10, Rob Abbott, The Pharma Letter) comments “...As the new Administration seeks to identify greater efficiencies within government, healthcare has become a target for ‘evaluation’ as expenditures continue to increase, and at faster rates. For example, prescription drug expenditures – whether out-of-pocket, through health insurance or other payers/programs – increased 11.4% to $449.7 billion in 2023, faster than the 7.8% growth in 2022. Yet cost-cutting alone will not create an ecosystem that’s accessible, efficient and as effective as possible. Until our healthcare system can provide all of these–along with affordability–it cannot provide the best value possible to each healthcare recipient.” Subscription Required

New EU Project Could Make Comparative Rare Diseases Trials More Feasible For Companies

(3/11, Francesca Bruce, Pink Sheet) reports “...RealiseD, a new project launched by the EU’s Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), could help make comparative clinical trials in the ultra-rare disease treatment space more financially and administratively viable for the pharmaceutical industry, IQWiG, the German health technology appraisal (HTA) institute, told the Pink Sheet.” Subscription Required