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OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze worldwide sales of new therapeutic agents and to estimate the time it takes for product sales to exceed industry-wide average drug development costs. METHODS: Data obtained from company reports were analyzed to track worldwide sales of new medicines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration from 1995 to 2014. All sales figures were reported in 2019 US dollars. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to evaluate the time it took for discounted product sales to exceed the average costs associated with developing 1 new drug (accounting for the costs of failed trials), using published estimates of these costs. RESULTS: Based on data for 361 of 558 new therapeutic agents approved over the study period (median follow-up 13.2 years), mean sales revenue per product was $15.2 billion through the end of 2019; the median was $6.7 billion. These products jointly generated global sales of $5.5 trillion since approval. Revenues were highly skewed, with the 25 best selling products (7%, 25 of 361) accounting for 38% of this amount ($2.1 trillion of $5.5 trillion). Approximately 47% of products had discounted sales that exceeded the estimated industry-wide average costs of development within 5 years of approval, and 75% within 10 years. After attributing potential production, marketing, and other costs, these numbers dropped to 21% of products within 5 years of approval, and 46% within 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: Sales of new medicines approved from 1995 to 2014 were highly skewed, but many products had net discounted sales that exceeded the industry-wide average costs of development within 10 years of approval. An understanding of how sales revenues accrue in the years after initial approval, alongside data on business costs, can inform discussions about how to incentivize private investment in innovation while ensuring affordable prices for patients and the healthcare system.
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Comércio , Aprovação de Drogas , United States Food and Drug Administration , Estados Unidos , Humanos , Comércio/economia , Comércio/tendências , Custos de Medicamentos/tendências , Indústria Farmacêutica/economiaRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: By September 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will publicly report the negotiated prices (Maximum Fair Prices) for the first 10 drugs selected for price negotiation. We estimate initial price offers based on net prices, statutorily defined ceilings, and comparative effectiveness data for the 10 drugs and their therapeutic alternatives. METHODS: We utilized net prices and other price benchmarks for the 10 drugs and their therapeutic alternatives. We searched for data on comparative clinical effectiveness for the primary indications. We outlined a range of plausible initial price offers based on CMS guidance and our interpretation of regulatory intent. RESULTS: For ibrutinib and ustekinumab, statutorily defined ceiling prices will likely determine the initial price offers. The integration of net pricing and clinical evidence from comparator branded products will inform the initial price offers for apixaban, empagliflozin, etanercept, and insulin aspart. Rivaroxaban and sacubitril/valsartan have therapeutic alternatives that are generics; therefore, CMS may apply a discount to current net prices. To achieve savings in the negotiation of dapagliflozin and sitagliptin, CMS will have to leverage additional negotiation factors because statutory defined ceilings and net prices of therapeutic alternatives are similar or higher. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis sheds light on important price benchmarks and clinical evidence factors for the determination of the initial price offers. Although we were not able to simulate the offer and counter-offer process, our findings provide a transparent and systematic way to produce initial offers that are consistent with CMS guidance.
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Benchmarking , Custos de Medicamentos , Estados Unidos , Humanos , Negociação , Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. , Medicare/economia , Pesquisa Comparativa da EfetividadeRESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to end until there is global roll-out of vaccines that protect against severe disease and preferably drive herd immunity. Regulators in numerous countries have authorised or approved COVID-19 vaccines for human use, with more expected to be licensed in 2021. Yet having licensed vaccines is not enough to achieve global control of COVID-19: they also need to be produced at scale, priced affordably, allocated globally so that they are available where needed, and widely deployed in local communities. In this Health Policy paper, we review potential challenges to success in each of these dimensions and discuss policy implications. To guide our review, we developed a dashboard to highlight key characteristics of 26 leading vaccine candidates, including efficacy levels, dosing regimens, storage requirements, prices, production capacities in 2021, and stocks reserved for low-income and middle-income countries. We use a traffic-light system to signal the potential contributions of each candidate to achieving global vaccine immunity, highlighting important trade-offs that policy makers need to consider when developing and implementing vaccination programmes. Although specific datapoints are subject to change as the pandemic response progresses, the dashboard will continue to provide a useful lens through which to analyse the key issues affecting the use of COVID-19 vaccines. We also present original data from a 32-country survey (n=26â758) on potential acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines, conducted from October to December, 2020. Vaccine acceptance was highest in Vietnam (98%), India (91%), China (91%), Denmark (87%), and South Korea (87%), and lowest in Serbia (38%), Croatia (41%), France (44%), Lebanon (44%), and Paraguay (51%).
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Vacinas contra COVID-19/classificação , Vacinas contra COVID-19/economia , Vacinas contra COVID-19/provisão & distribuição , COVID-19/prevenção & controle , Desenvolvimento de Medicamentos , Programas de Imunização , Saúde Global , Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde , Humanos , Cooperação Internacional , Aceitação pelo Paciente de Cuidados de Saúde , Alocação de RecursosRESUMO
IMPORTANCE: The mean cost of developing a new drug has been the subject of debate, with recent estimates ranging from $314 million to $2.8 billion. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the research and development investment required to bring a new therapeutic agent to market, using publicly available data. DESIGN AND SETTING: Data were analyzed on new therapeutic agents approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 2009 and 2018 to estimate the research and development expenditure required to bring a new medicine to market. Data were accessed from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Drugs@FDA database, and ClinicalTrials.gov, alongside published data on clinical trial success rates. EXPOSURES: Conduct of preclinical and clinical studies of new therapeutic agents. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Median and mean research and development spending on new therapeutic agents approved by the FDA, capitalized at a real cost of capital rate (the required rate of return for an investor) of 10.5% per year, with bootstrapped CIs. All amounts were reported in 2018 US dollars. RESULTS: The FDA approved 355 new drugs and biologics over the study period. Research and development expenditures were available for 63 (18%) products, developed by 47 different companies. After accounting for the costs of failed trials, the median capitalized research and development investment to bring a new drug to market was estimated at $985.3 million (95% CI, $683.6 million-$1228.9 million), and the mean investment was estimated at $1335.9 million (95% CI, $1042.5 million-$1637.5 million) in the base case analysis. Median estimates by therapeutic area (for areas with ≥5 drugs) ranged from $765.9 million (95% CI, $323.0 million-$1473.5 million) for nervous system agents to $2771.6 million (95% CI, $2051.8 million-$5366.2 million) for antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents. Data were mainly accessible for smaller firms, orphan drugs, products in certain therapeutic areas, first-in-class drugs, therapeutic agents that received accelerated approval, and products approved between 2014 and 2018. Results varied in sensitivity analyses using different estimates of clinical trial success rates, preclinical expenditures, and cost of capital. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study provides an estimate of research and development costs for new therapeutic agents based on publicly available data. Differences from previous studies may reflect the spectrum of products analyzed, the restricted availability of data in the public domain, and differences in underlying assumptions in the cost calculations.
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Desenvolvimento de Medicamentos/economia , Indústria Farmacêutica/economia , Pesquisa Farmacêutica/economia , Custos e Análise de Custo/estatística & dados numéricos , Custos de Medicamentos , Indústria Farmacêutica/estatística & dados numéricos , Estados Unidos , United States Food and Drug AdministrationAssuntos
Manobras Políticas , Oncologia , Humanos , Oncologia/normas , Estados Unidos , Atenção à SaúdeRESUMO
This study quantifies the revenue earned on all brand-name inhalers approved by the US Food and Drug Administration from 2000 to 2021 and compared earnings before and after expiration of primary patents on these products.
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Indústria Farmacêutica , Competição Econômica , Nebulizadores e Vaporizadores , Patentes como Assunto , Medicamentos Genéricos , Competição Econômica/economia , Nebulizadores e Vaporizadores/economia , Estados Unidos , Patentes como Assunto/legislação & jurisprudência , Indústria Farmacêutica/economia , Indústria Farmacêutica/legislação & jurisprudênciaRESUMO
Policy Points: Randomized trials-the gold standard of evaluating effectiveness-constitute a small minority of existing evidence on agents given accelerated approval. One-third of randomized trials are in therapeutic areas outside of FDA approval and less than half evaluate the therapeutic benefits of these agents but use them instead as common backbone treatments. Agents receiving accelerated approval are often tested concurrently in several therapeutic areas. For most agents, no substantial time lag is apparent between the average start dates of randomized trials evaluating their effectiveness and those using them as part of background therapies. There appears to be a tendency for therapeutic agents receiving accelerated approval to quickly become an integral component of standard treatment, despite potential shortcomings in their evidence base. CONTEXT: Therapeutic agents treating serious conditions are eligible for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accelerated approval. The clinical evidence accrued on agents receiving accelerated approval has not been systematically evaluated. Our objective was to assess the timing and characteristics of available studies. METHODS: We first identified clinical studies of novel therapeutic agents receiving accelerated approval. We then (1) categorized those studies as randomized or nonrandomized, (2) explored whether they evaluated the FDA-approved indications, and (3) documented the available treatment comparisons. We also meta-analyzed the difference in start times between randomized studies that (1) did or did not evaluate approved indications and (2) were or were not designed to evaluate the agent's effectiveness. FINDINGS: In total, 37 novel therapeutic agents received accelerated approval between 2000 and 2013. Our search of ClinicalTrials.gov identified 7,757 studies, which included 1,258,315 participants. Only one-third of identified studies were randomized controlled trials. Of 1,631 randomized trials with advanced recruitment status, 906 were conducted in therapeutic areas for which agents received initial accelerated approval, 202 were in supplemental indications, and 523 were outside approved indications. Only 411 out of 906 (45.4%) trials were designed to test the effectiveness of agents that received accelerated approval ("evaluation" trials); others used these agents as common background treatment in both arms ("background" trials). There was no detectable lag between average start times of trials conducted within and outside initially approved indications. Evaluation trials started on average 1.52 years (95% CI: 0.87 to 2.17) earlier than background trials. CONCLUSIONS: Cumulative evidence on agents with accelerated approvals has major limitations. Most clinical studies including these agents are small and nonrandomized, and about a third are conducted in unapproved areas, typically concurrently with those conducted in approved areas. Most randomized trials including these therapeutic agents are not designed to directly evaluate their clinical benefits but to incorporate them as standard treatment.
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Aprovação de Drogas/organização & administração , Medicina Baseada em Evidências , United States Food and Drug Administration , Controle de Medicamentos e Entorpecentes , Metanálise como Assunto , Ensaios Clínicos Controlados Aleatórios como Assunto , Fatores de Tempo , Estados UnidosRESUMO
Policy Points: Our study indicates that there are opportunities for cost savings in generic drug markets in Europe and the United States. Regulators should make it easier for generic drugs to reach the market. Regulators and payers should apply measures to stimulate price competition among generic drugmakers and to increase generic drug use. To meaningfully evaluate policy options, it is important to analyze historical context and understand why similar initiatives failed previously. CONTEXT: Rising drug prices are putting pressure on health care budgets. Policymakers are assessing how they can save money through generic drugs. METHODS: We compared generic drug prices and market shares in 13 European countries, using data from 2013, to assess the amount of variation that exists between countries. To place these results in context, we reviewed evidence from recent studies on the prices and use of generics in Europe and the United States. We also surveyed peer-reviewed studies, gray literature, and books published since 2000 to (1) outline existing generic drug policies in European countries and the United States; (2) identify ways to increase generic drug use and to promote price competition among generic drug companies; and (3) explore barriers to implementing reform of generic drug policies, using a historical example from the United States as a case study. FINDINGS: The prices and market shares of generics vary widely across Europe. For example, prices charged by manufacturers in Switzerland are, on average, more than 2.5 times those in Germany and more than 6 times those in the United Kingdom, based on the results of a commonly used price index. The proportion of prescriptions filled with generics ranges from 17% in Switzerland to 83% in the United Kingdom. By comparison, the United States has historically had low generic drug prices and high rates of generic drug use (84% in 2013), but has in recent years experienced sharp price increases for some off-patent products. There are policy solutions to address issues in Europe and the United States, such as streamlining the generic drug approval process and requiring generic prescribing and substitution where such policies are not yet in place. The history of substitution laws in the United States provides insights into the economic, political, and cultural issues influencing the adoption of generic drug policies. CONCLUSIONS: Governments should apply coherent supply- and demand-side policies in generic drug markets. An immediate priority is to convince more physicians, pharmacists, and patients that generic drugs are bioequivalent to branded products. Special-interest groups continue to obstruct reform in Europe and the United States.
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Comércio/economia , Comércio/estatística & dados numéricos , Redução de Custos/economia , Redução de Custos/métodos , Medicamentos Genéricos/economia , Gastos em Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Política de Saúde/economia , Europa (Continente) , Humanos , Estados UnidosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Policymakers and researchers frequently compare the prices of medicines between countries. Such comparisons often serve as barometers of how pricing and reimbursement policies are performing. The aim of this study was to examine methodological challenges to comparing generic drug prices. METHODS: We calculated all commonly used price indices based on 2013 IMS Health data on sales of 3156 generic drugs in seven European countries. RESULTS: There were large differences in generic drug prices between countries. However, the results varied depending on the choice of index, base country, unit of volume, method of currency conversion, and therapeutic category. The results also differed depending on whether one looked at the prices charged by manufacturers or those charged by pharmacists. CONCLUSIONS: Price indices are a useful statistical approach for comparing drug prices across countries, but researchers and policymakers should interpret price indices with caution given their limitations. Price-index results are highly sensitive to the choice of method and sample. More research is needed to determine the drivers of price differences between countries. The data suggest that some governments should aim to reduce distribution costs for generic drugs.
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Custos de Medicamentos , Medicamentos Genéricos/economia , Custos e Análise de Custo , Indústria Farmacêutica/economia , Europa (Continente) , Política de Saúde/economia , HumanosRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To review the pharmaceutical sector in Cyprus in terms of the availability and affordability of medicines and to explore pharmaceutical policy options for the national health system finance reform expected to be introduced in 2016. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews in April 2014 with senior representatives from seven key national organizations involved in pharmaceutical care. The captured data were coded and analysed using the predetermined themes of pricing, reimbursement, prescribing, dispensing and cost sharing. We also examined secondary data provided by the Cypriot Ministry of Health; these data included the prices and volumes of prescription medicines in 2013. FINDINGS: We identified several key issues, including high medicine prices, underuse of generic medicines and high out-of-pocket drug spending. Most stakeholders recommended that the national government review existing pricing policies to ensure medicines within the forthcoming national health system are affordable and available, introduce a national reimbursement system and incentivize the prescribing and dispensing of generic medicines. There were disagreements over how to (i) allocate responsibilities to governmental agencies in the national health system, (ii) reconcile differences in opinion between stakeholders and (iii) raise awareness among patients, physicians and pharmacists about the benefits of greater generic drug use. CONCLUSION: In Cyprus, if the national health system is going to provide universal health coverage in a sustainable fashion, then the national government must address the current issues in the pharmaceutical sector. Importantly, the country will need to increase the market share of generic medicines to contain drug spending.
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Controle de Medicamentos e Entorpecentes , Reforma dos Serviços de Saúde , Programas Nacionais de Saúde/tendências , Custo Compartilhado de Seguro , Chipre , Prescrições de Medicamentos , Controle de Medicamentos e Entorpecentes/economia , Controle de Medicamentos e Entorpecentes/tendências , Reforma dos Serviços de Saúde/economia , Reforma dos Serviços de Saúde/tendências , Programas Nacionais de Saúde/economia , Setor Público , Mecanismo de ReembolsoRESUMO
Little is known about how long it takes for new medicines to reach countries with different income levels. We analyzed data, sourced from IQVIA, on the timing of new drug launches in seventy-five low-, middle-, and high-income markets from 1982 to 2024. The sample captured the majority of essential medicines (as designated by the World Health Organization in the twenty-third Model List of Essential Medicines) that first came into medical use anywhere globally from 1982 onward. Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to quantify delays in launches across countries. Our analysis comprised 119 medicines with 6,871 observed launches. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of first launches occurred in just eight countries (in order of the most first launches, the US, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan). From the first launch globally, the median time to availability was 2.7 years for high-income countries, 4.5 years for upper-middle-income countries, 6.9 years for lower-middle-income countries, and 8.0 years for low-income countries. The gap between richer (high- and upper-middle-income) and poorer (lower-middle- and low-income) countries remained largely unchanged over time. Strategies to address the disparities highlighted by this analysis are urgently needed.
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Países em Desenvolvimento , Medicamentos Essenciais , Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde , Medicamentos Essenciais/provisão & distribuição , Medicamentos Essenciais/economia , Humanos , Fatores de Tempo , Renda , Organização Mundial da SaúdeRESUMO
Under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are able to negotiate prices for topselling drugs in the Medicare Part B and D programs. In determining initial price offers, CMS will compare the prices and clinical benefits of the drugs subject to negotiation to the prices and clinical benefits of therapeutic alternatives. Despite the central role that the selection of therapeutic alternatives will play in the price negotiations, the available guidance published by CMS provides few details about how the organization will undertake this process, which will be particularly complex for drugs approved for more than one indication. To better inform the selection process, we identified all US Food and Drug Administration-approved indications for the first 10 drugs subject to negotiation. Using 2020-2021 Medicare claims data, we identified Medicare Part D beneficiaries using each of the 10 drugs. We extracted medical claims with diagnosis codes for each of the approved indications to report the relative treated prevalence of use by indication for each drug. We reviewed published clinical guidelines to identify relevant therapeutic alternatives for each of the indications. We integrated the evidence on the relative treated prevalence of indications and clinical guidelines to propose therapeutic alternatives for each of the 10 drugs. We describe challenges that CMS may face in selecting therapeutic alternatives.
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Medicare Part B , Medicare Part D , Idoso , Humanos , Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. , Negociação , Estados Unidos , United States Food and Drug AdministrationRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are currently negotiating prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers for the first 10 Part D drugs selected for Medicare drug price negotiation. Non-publicly available data, including the net prices of selected drugs and their therapeutic alternatives, will play a central role in the determination of the maximum fair prices (MFPs). OBJECTIVE: To estimate price benchmarks involved in the derivation of the starting point of the CMS initial price offer for the 10 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation. METHODS: For the 10 drugs selected for negotiation, we reported (1) the list price, (2) the net price after manufacturer discounts, (3) the maximum negotiated price based on the minimum statutory discount, and (4) the ceiling of the MFP, estimated as the lowest of the latter 2. We also estimated net prices for therapeutic alternatives to the selected drugs. Net prices were estimated using peer-reviewed methodology that isolates commercial discounts negotiated between payers and manufacturers from mandatory discounts under government programs. All price benchmarks were estimated at the product level, for 30-day equivalent dosing, using 2021 data. RESULTS: 6 products (apixaban, rivaroxaban, empagliflozin, sacubitril/valsartan, etanercept, and insulin aspart) had therapeutic alternatives with lower net prices, which will be integrated with clinical benefit data in the derivation of initial price offers. The other 4 products (ustekinumab, ibrutinib, sitagliptin, and dapagliflozin) had therapeutic alternatives with higher net prices than the drugs selected for negotiation. For ibrutinib and ustekinumab, prices based on the minimum discounts were considerably lower than the estimated net prices and will likely set the starting point of the initial price offer. For dapagliflozin and sitagliptin, the starting point of the initial price offer will likely resemble their existing net prices. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses identify different negotiation scenarios for the first 10 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation, based on key elements involved in the derivation of the initial price offer. Our analyses can help improve transparency in the negotiation process, because the CMS is not required to reveal the information used in the derivation of price offers.
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Benchmarking , Custos de Medicamentos , Medicare Part D , Negociação , Estados Unidos , Humanos , Medicare Part D/economia , Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. , Indústria Farmacêutica/economiaRESUMO
Regulation of health technologies must be rigorous, instilling trust among both healthcare providers and patients. This is especially important for the control and supervision of the growing use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. In this commentary on the accompanying piece by Van Laere and colleagues, we set out the scope for applying artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector and outline five key challenges that regulators face in dealing with these modern-day technologies. Addressing these challenges will not be easy. While artificial intelligence applications in healthcare have already made rapid progress and benefitted patients, these applications clearly hold even more potential for future developments. Yet it is vital that the regulatory environment keep up with this fast-evolving space of healthcare in order to anticipate and, to the extent possible, prevent the risks that may arise.
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Inteligência Artificial , Sistemas de Apoio a Decisões Clínicas , Humanos , Atenção à Saúde , Instalações de Saúde , TecnologiaRESUMO
The crowded global health landscape has been joined by the European Union Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). HERA will assume four broad areas of responsibility: horizon scanning for major health threats; research and development; support for capacity to manufacture drugs, vaccines, and equipment; and procuring and stockpiling key medical countermeasures. In this Health Reform Monitor article, we outline the reform process and describe HERA's structure and responsibilities, explore issues that arise from the creation of this new organisation, and suggest options for collaboration with existing bodies in Europe and beyond. The COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious disease outbreaks have shown the need to treat health as a cross-border issue, and there is now a broad consensus that greater direction and coordination at the European level is needed. This ambition has been matched with a considerable increase in EU funding to tackle cross-border health threats, and HERA can be used to deploy this funding in an effective manner. Yet this is contingent upon clearly defining its role and responsibilities vis-à-vis existing agencies to reduce redundancies.
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COVID-19 , Defesa Civil , Humanos , Pandemias/prevenção & controle , Reforma dos Serviços de Saúde , COVID-19/prevenção & controle , Surtos de Doenças/prevenção & controle , Saúde GlobalRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the fragmented nature of governmental policy decisions in Europe. However, the extent to which COVID-19 vaccination policies differed between European countries remains unclear. Here, we mapped the COVID-19 vaccination policies that were in effect in January 2022 as well as booster regulations in April 2022 in Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. METHODS: National public health and health policy experts from these ten European nations developed and completed an electronic questionnaire. The questionnaire included a series of questions that addressed six critical components of vaccine implementation, including (1) authorization, (2) prioritization, (3) procurement and distribution, (4) data collection, (5) administration, and (6) mandate requirements. RESULTS: Our findings revealed significant variations in COVID-19 vaccination policies across Europe. We observed critical differences in COVID-19 vaccine formulations authorized for use, as well as the specific groups that were provided with priority access. We also identified discrepancies in how vaccination-related data were recorded in each country and what vaccination requirements were implemented. CONCLUSION: Each of the ten European nations surveyed in this study reported different COVID-19 vaccination policies. These differences complicated efforts to provide a coordinated pandemic response. These findings might alert policymakers in Europe of the need to coordinate their efforts to avoid fostering divergent and socially disruptive policies.
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Vacinas contra COVID-19 , COVID-19 , Humanos , Pandemias/prevenção & controle , COVID-19/epidemiologia , COVID-19/prevenção & controle , Europa (Continente)/epidemiologia , Política de SaúdeRESUMO
Importance: Drug companies frequently claim that high prices are needed to recoup spending on research and development. If high research and development costs justified high drug prices, then an association between these 2 measures would be expected. Objective: To examine the association between treatment costs and research and development investments for new therapeutic agents approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2009 to 2018. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study analyzed 60 drugs approved by the FDA between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2018, for which data on research and development investments and list or net prices were available. Data sources included the FDA and SSR Health databases. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary independent variable was estimated research and development investment. The outcome was standardized treatment costs (ie, annual treatment costs for both chronic and cycle drugs, and treatment costs for the maximum length of treatment recommended for acute drugs). Standardized treatment costs were estimated separately using list and net prices obtained from SSR Health at the time of launch and in 2021. To test the association between research and development investments and treatment costs, correlation coefficients were estimated and linear regression models were fitted that controlled for other factors that were associated with treatment costs, such as orphan status. Two models were used: a fully adjusted model that was adjusted for all variables in the data set associated with treatment costs and a parsimonious model in which highly correlated variables were excluded. Results: No correlation was observed between estimated research and development investments and log-adjusted treatment costs based on list prices at launch (R = -0.02 and R2 = 0.0005; P = .87) or net prices 1 year after launch (R = 0.08 and R2 = 0.007; P = .73). This result held when 2021 prices were used to estimate treatment costs. The linear regression models showed no association between estimated research and development investments and log-adjusted treatment costs at launch (ß = 0.002 [95% CI, -0.02 to 0.02; P = .84] in the fully adjusted model; ß = 0.01 [95% CI, -0.01 to 0.03; P = .46] in the parsimonious model) or from 2021 (ß = -0.01 [95% CI, -0.03 to 0.01; P = .30] in the fully adjusted model; ß = -0.004 [95% CI, -0.02 to 0.02; P = .66] in the parsimonious model). Conclusions and Relevance: Results of this study indicated that research and development investments did not explain the variation in list prices for the 60 drugs in this sample. Drug companies should make further data available to support their claims that high drug prices are needed to recover research and development investments, if they are to continue to use this argument to justify high prices.