CER Daily Newsfeed

The U.S. Drug System Strikes a Reasonable Balance Between Incentivizing Innovation and Promoting Competition

(7/23, Wayne Winegarden, Pacific Research Institute Blog) comments “...Between 2012 and 2022, the biopharmaceutical industry invested $279,000 per employee into R&D investments, which is 13 times larger than the average investment for all manufacturing industries. Further, biopharmaceutical companies invested more than $12 million for every patent issued, which was also higher than any other sector. However, the biopharmaceutical industry’s sales revenues generated per patent was $38.5 million, which is only average...The extreme gap between investment required per patent and revenue per patent illustrates the inherent risk associated with developing new medicines. The smaller revenue per patent also further undermines the accusations that market manipulation is occurring.” Full

Amy Abernethy on the New Era of Real-World Data

(7/23, Claire Rychlewski, Axios) reports “...Abernethy was the chief medical officer at Flatiron Health when it was acquired by Roche for $2.1 billion in 2018 in one of the earliest bets on real-world evidence data. She launched Highlander last year, which includes a nonprofit arm and an investment arm that acquired longitudinal data company Target RWE in January...Abernethy: ‘We have a thesis that the kinds of investments that are going to contribute to modern clinical research infrastructure fall into three categories. One is longitudinal data. The second is what we call footprint ... and the third is around trust and credibility.’” Subscription Required

Waste of the Day: “Low-Value” Medicare Treatments

(7/28, Jeremy Portnoy, RealClearInvestigations) reports “An estimated 37% of Medicare patients received a ‘low-value’ health care service in 2023, costing the federal government $5.9 billion. The numbers come from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) annual ‘Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program’ data book, released on July 1.” Full

RWE and HTA – A Snapshot of Recent Developments with Sreeram Ramagopalan: April–July 2025

(7/23, Sreeram Ramagopalan, The Evidence Base) comments “...The England RSV vaccination effectiveness study represents the most compelling story, showcasing how methodologically rigorous RWE generation can be performed rapidly. Using a regression discontinuity design, researchers created a natural experiment that minimized confounding while providing robust causal inference. The study's ability to demonstrate significant clinical impact (30% reduction in hospitalizations) within months of program implementation exemplifies how RWE can provide timely validation of clinical trial results and inform healthcare policy decisions in near real time.” Full

Leqembi Facing 15% Price Cut In Japan

(7/24, Lisa Takagi, Pink Sheet) reports “Japan looks set to press ahead with a reimbursement price cut for Eisai's Alzheimer's drug Leqembi following a cost-effectiveness review, despite differences with the company over methodology.” Subscription Required