CER Daily Newsfeed

Challenges With Judging and Interpreting a Drug’s Launch Price

(3/24, Melanie D. Whittington, PhD, Louis P. Garrison Jr, PhD, Jonathan D. Campbell, PhD, The American Journal of Managed Care) comments “...We are not suggesting that value is not a factor in pricing decisions within the US. Rather, we are suggesting that (1) launch prices are often not reflective of what manufacturers are actually paid, (2) quantifying value is complex, (3) the limitations of a conventional cost-effectiveness analysis should be considered when interpreting its findings, and (4) reliance on a single or a narrow threshold is not evidence-based. These 4 things, among others, complicate the interpretation of a drug’s value based on its launch price.” Full

APhA 2025: GLP-1 Receptor Agonists vs SGLT2 Inhibitors Show Varied Benefit for Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Diabetes

(3/23, Alana Hippensteele, Pharmacy Times) reports “Both glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors offer significant cardiovascular (CV) benefits for patients with diabetes, but the optimal choice depends on individual patient factors. While GLP-1 receptor agonists provide superior stroke prevention, weight loss, and glycemic control, SGLT2 inhibitors excel in heart failure management, CV death reduction, and renal protection.” Full

Tenecteplase Is Reasonable Alternative to Alteplase for Ischemic Stroke

(3/24, Elana Gotkine, HealthDay News) reports “For patients with ischemic stroke, tenecteplase seems to be a reasonable alternative to alteplase in terms of effectiveness and safety outcomes, according to a study published online March 12 in JAMA Network Open.” Full

PCV13 Pneumonia Vaccine Shows Longer Durability Over PPV23 in People With COPD

(3/21, Victoria Johnson, HCPLive) reports “PCV13 Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccinations had more persistent longer-term clinical efficacy than PPV23 vaccines, with a measurable difference in pneumonia episodes in older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).” Full

Centering Caregivers in Rare Disease: Elevating Their Role in Patient-Centered Research and Advocacy

(March 2025, Dominque Seo, MPH, Gloria Rodriguez, MPH, Michelle Cheng, MHS, Center for Innovation & Value Research) comments “...At the Center for Innovation & Value Research (the Center), we recognize the critical role of caregivers through our Rare Disease Project. This initiative is working to address real-world complexities by exploring ways to enhance comparative effectiveness research (CER) and health technology assessment (HTA) by: Incorporating patient-centered outcomes: Value research must center the experiences of patients, caregivers, and families to accurately capture clinical and economic impacts. This may require expanding evaluation methods to consider lived experiences, access to care, and affordability.” Full

Letting Patients Lead The Way To More Effective Value-Based Payment

(3/24, Hoangmai H. Pham, Lauren Erickson, Richard Gilfillan, Health Affairs Forefront) comments “...Payers and providers forgo significant opportunity to maximize the effectiveness of VBP when they do not seek input from patients on model design and implementation. Patients have rich insights into what they need for their health and well-being. They can best predict how different ways of delivering services and supports (such as in-person versus telehealth visits or an on-site food pantry at their clinic) would fit into their lives or not. They know what health and life outcomes matter most to them. Patients’ lived experiences, perspectives, and priorities can inform many facets of value-based payment models. Taking a patientcentric approach to VBP design would raise the probability of such models achieving their aims.” Full

Kathleen Thomas Provides Research Update Before Congress

(3/24, Mariava Phillips, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy) reports “...This past December, for the first time, PCORI invited two researchers, including [professor Kathleen Thomas, PhD], leading PCORI-funded projects focused on engaging IDD populations in research to share insights before Congress. Thomas described her trial and early findings providing evidence of the validity of self-report patient-reported outcomes data from youth with IDD. ‘Preliminary data shows that parents and youth responses [in our survey] are significantly correlated, which is very novel and exciting,’ said Thomas, professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.” Full

DIA Europe: EU Regulators Report Steady Progress in RWD Acceptance

(3/21, Joanne S. Eglovitch, Regulatory Focus) reports “Regulators and a representative from the pharmaceutical industry discussed the increasing acceptance of real-world data (RWD) in regulatory procedures in the EU during a panel discussion at DIA Europe 2025 on Wednesday. They emphasized the importance of RWD in informing decision making for new drug approvals and improving drug safety data collection.” Full