CER Daily Newsfeed

New Clot-Busting Drug Quicker And As Effective In Treating Stroke

(3/20, Dennis Thompson, HealthDay News) reports “...‘This large, nationwide comparative effectiveness study using data from routine clinical practice demonstrated similar short-term safety and effectiveness outcomes with tenecteplase compared to alteplase in patients with acute ischemic stroke,’ researchers concluded in their study.” Full

Real-World Data Confirm Safety of Switching Between Ranibizumab Biosimilars

(3/19, Skylar Jeremias, The Center for Biosimilars) reports “...Switching between ranibizumab biosimilars is safe and effective for patients receiving treatment for retinal conditions, with no reported immunogenicity issues or significant adverse events, according to early real-world data coming out of India.” Full

Just 1 in 10 Back Pain Treatments Work, Study Says — What to Do Instead

(3/20, Melissa Rudy, Fox News) reports “Chronic back pain is the most common type of pain, affecting around 16 million American adults — and now a new study has revealed some discouraging findings about potential treatments. Only around one in every 10 treatments was found to be effective in relieving lower back pain, according to a new study published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. Many of them are ‘barely better than a placebo’ in terms of pain relief, as stated in a press release from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia.” Full

HHS Agency Responsible for Health Care Quality Research Threatened With Mass Layoffs

(3/20, John Wilkerson, STAT+) reports “...Insiders say that DOGE aims to reduce AHRQ staff by 80% to 90%. That's based on what agency leaders were told by DOGE representatives at an in-person meeting on March 11, one current employee and one former employee said...[A]ll AHRQ-funded research is at risk if the agency is reduced to a skeleton staff. That's a threat that ‘absolutely feels real,’ [Aaron Carroll, CEO of the health services research nonprofit AcademyHealth] said, based on discussions with current and former AHRQ employees and what has happened to other agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development.” Sub. Req’d

Slovenia's Health Minister and ELPA President Discuss EU's New Health Technology Assessment Regulation

(3/19, OncoDaily Blog) comments “...Minister of Health, Dr. Valentina Prevolnik Rupel, met with the President of the European Liver Patients’ Association (ELPA), Marko Korenjak. During the meeting, they discussed key changes in the field of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in the European Union...Slovenia has the opportunity to become a leading model in implementing these changes. The active involvement of patients will enable healthcare services to be better tailored to their needs, increasing the efficiency and quality of healthcare.” Full