Market Access

Head of Amgen’s inflammation business, Kave Niksefat, gives insight into how the 40-year-old biotech maintains its culture of innovation and avoids falling into the “trap” of bureaucracy.

The pandemic has brightened pharma’s image, but drug pricing is still high on the political agenda. For US and European politicians, the health crisis has heightened the tension between supporting innovation and controlling rising costs.

Manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines at unprecedented speed and scale is 2021’s biggest challenge – and mRNA platforms are emerging as the leaders, living up to their promise as the ideal technology for pandemic preparedness.

COVID-19 vaccines are only effective in individuals who get them. Lyft, the ride-share company based in San Francisco, CA, announced plans in December to provide 60 million rides to and from vaccination sites.

The race to develop COVID-19 vaccines is intensifying long-standing debate over the ability of lower-income countries to gain affordable access to needed medical treatments. Patient advocates argue that drug makers and wealthy governments are striking deals that place poor countries at a disadvantage. The pharmaceutical industry, however, maintains it is moving as quickly as possible to not only discover safe and effective vaccines, but to enable equitable distribution.    

Together, we will improve patient health and experiences while lowering costs across the continuum of care.” This quote, from Andrew Witty, CEO of US health services management company Optum, after the company sealed its acquisition of DaVita Medical Group in 2019, encapsulates the oft-declared goals of vertical integration: efficiencies, improved quality of care, reduced costs. But is this the reality?

Biohaven Pharmaceuticals developed six different value-based contracting options to support the launch of acute migraine therapy, Nurtec ODT. Despite contract complexity and lingering regulatory risk, payers are aggressively pursuing value-based contracts, leading even small biopharmas to invest in strong health economics capabilities.

The turn of the year is a chance to reflect on times past and the future, to make resolutions and look ahead to changes for the better. With Brexit in mind, this is the time to prophesize on UK medtech’s immediate future.

“No deal” was finally off the table for UK trade in goods with the EU after an 11th hour free trade agreement was reached. But for the UK, the decision effectively means a “hard Brexit.”

Last year Bristol Myers Squibb teamed up with GRYT Health to create a virtual conference and information hub geared toward connecting patients and advocates with industry leaders, clinicians and other health experts. In 2021, the COVID Advocacy Exchange will create formal working groups to address ongoing needs identified by the Exchange’s growing number of users.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout, pharmaceutical companies could face a range of measures designed to cut government spending on medicines. From relaxing intellectual property rights to delaying reimbursement, In Vivo examines what might be in store for industry.

Executives at Pfizer and Moderna expressed confidence in their US government partners for initial COVID-19 vaccine distribution and expect pediatric studies to begin before the end of the year. Regeneron will “do the right thing” in pricing its antibody cocktail.