Despite a reprieve last summer from the Trump administration’s proposed drug price rebate rule, speakers at the 25th annual Pharmacy Benefit Manager Institute kept the focus on price transparency and talked up new ways to manage drug costs for patients in need of treatment. 

Innovation is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as “(the use of) a new idea or method.” The term is bandied about a great deal in the life sciences industry. Is it actually helpful to use the term so widely, or does the sector risk overlooking true innovation? This can be applied not only to the drugs coming to market, but how they are paid for as well.

Incentives matter; they motivate us to do things. There is renewed interest in just what motivates the life sciences industry to make the choices it does when determining the diseases it will focus on, and how much effort it puts in. This stems from concern about too much effort going into some areas, and too little in others.

The new regulatory professionalism drive sweeping over the global medtech and pharmaceutical sectors will lead to better value for all health care stakeholders. This is of particular relevance in regions such as Asia, where regulatory manpower is often at low levels. 

As it enters a potentially golden decade, can biopharma seize the opportunity to overhaul its business model – and its reputation? Viren Mehta of Mehta Partners LLC discusses. 

In an exclusive interview, senior NICE director Meindert Boysen reveals the best advice he ever received and how companies whose products are under review can improve their chances of success.