News from Monday, June 1, 2026
Articles
Teclistamab as Monotherapy Shows Huge Advantage After First Relapse in Myeloma
(5/29, Mary Caffrey, AJMC) reports “...Phase 3 results for the MajesTEC-9 trial (NCT05572515), scheduled for presentation late Friday, showed a 71% reduced risk of disease progression or death among patients taking teclistamab, compared with those taking either of 2 commonly used combinations.” Full
Better Evidence Should Lead to Better Health. Here Is How We Are Making That Happen.
(5/31, AcademyHealth Blog) comments “...We are proud to announce the launch of AcademyHealth's four Signature Program Centers: the Health Services Research Acceleration Center, the Champions of Evidence Center, the Evidence into Policy Center, and the Innovation Adoption Center...The four Centers are soft-launching this week at AcademyHealth's Annual Research Meeting in Seattle, where the health services research community is gathering for the first-ever Health Services Research Week. A full public launch is planned for Fall 2026.” Full
Why Insurers Still See Value-Based Care as the Answer to High Costs
(6/1, Noah Tong, Modern Healthcare) reports “...The allure of savings and better outcomes is pushing insurers to double down on value-based payment, even if the perfect formula hasn’t been found. ‘Hope springs eternal,’ [Mark Pauly, professor emeritus of healthcare management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania,] said. ‘The idea of different insurers competing by trying out various approaches — maybe sooner or later somebody will stumble on the thing that really does work.’” Subscription Required
NICE Recommends Mepolizumab for Uncontrolled COPD
(5/29, Rob Hicks, MBBS, Medscape) reports “...In its final draft guidance, NICE said that mepolizumab was recommended as an add-on maintenance treatment option for uncontrolled COPD with raised blood eosinophils in adults, if they were receiving triple inhaler therapy — including an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), a long-acting beta-2-agonist (LABA), and a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA).” Full
UK: Hetronifly Wins NICE Backing in Tough Lung Cancer Niche
(5/29, The Pharma Letter) reports “UK-based Accord Healthcare has won a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendation for Hetronifly (serplulimab) in untreated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, opening routine NHS access in England and Wales for a disease where progress has been stubbornly slow.” Subscription Required
Press Releases
Large National Study Finds Outstanding Early Outcomes with Proton and Photon Therapy for Prostate Cancer
(5/31, UF Health Press Release) “A large national clinical trial funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has shown outstanding early outcomes for prostate cancer patients treated with both proton therapy and standard photon radiation therapy...Assessing long-term comparative outcomes like disease control, late toxicity and secondary cancers will need longer follow-up.” Full
Machine Learning Maps and Discovers Clinical Endpoints in Pompe Disease Using Real-World Data
(5/31, Volv Global Press Release) “...New research presented at ISPOR Global 2026 in Philadelphia demonstrates that machine learning can map clinician-defined endpoints to real-world claims data in Pompe disease and surface disease manifestations beyond pre-specified frameworks. The study, conducted by Volv Global in collaboration with Sanofi, was conducted in a US administrative claims database.” Full
Journals
An Observational Study of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s Switch from In-Person to Virtual Research Application Review Panels During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Robin Bloodworth, et al.
June 1, 2026, Research Integrity and Peer Review
Events
PCORI Board of Governors Meeting
June 16 - 17, 2026
Behind the Drug Discounts: 340B, Medicare Negotiation, and Transparency
June 18, 2026
2:00PM EDT