SUMMARY Immunotherapies targeting the PD pathway have shown unprecedented efficacy in many oncology indications including NSCLC The scientific literature suggests that antibodies targeting PD-1 and PD-L1 have similar clinical data and class them together given that they similarly target the PD pathway, although the ability to show survival benefits in…
SUMMARY VC investment in digital healthcare has been growing rapidly (+42% vs. 2017) as the potential of new technology to solve complex issues, ranging from providing healthcare services to managing chronic conditions, evolves Most of these VC-backed digital healthcare companies aim to provide technology-enhanced solutions for providers and patients with…
Key Takeaways Vermont’s fledgling drug importation law has undergone preliminary savings analysis, with uninspiring projections of a 3.8% drug cost savings rate The importation program is unable to consider infused or biologic products, severely limiting the scope The state’s analysis admitted that the state Medicaid program is likely already receiving…
Chinese philosophers have contributed many words of wisdom to those wise enough to listen and heed them. As various geopolitical storylines continue to play out, it has become clear that the current government led by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is heeding one such quip, that is to not to…
When the engine of innovation gets the green light of marketing authorisation, it is typically first in the USA, and sometimes for the EMA’s (European Medicines Agency) jurisdiction over much of Europe. Unfortunately, CHN (China) is too often one the last markets among the major and highest-tier of emerging markets…
Following years of hushed excitement and mounting anticipation in biotech circles, gene and cell therapies finally made the jump in 2017 from the safety of guarded clinical trial experimentation to broad availability to patients and their caregivers in the USA. The USA’s FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approvals of the…
2017 was a banner year for innovation as the healthcare world witnessed the first three cell and gene therapies launch in the USA, with the FDA’s approval of two CAR-Ts (KYMRIAH™ (tisagenlecleucel, $NVS) and YESCARTA™ (axicabtagene ciloleucel, $GILD)) as well as blindness gene therapy LUXTURNA™ (voretigene neparvovec, $ONCE). These three…
After years of anticipation, CAR-Ts (chimeric antigen receptor–T-cells) finally made the transition from being promising future therapies, to breakthrough marketed products in 2017. Novartis’s KYMRIAH™ got the FDA nod in late August for pediatric B-ALL (B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia), followed by Kite’s YESCARTA™ in October for NHL (Non-Hodgkin lymphoma) (Figure 1)….
Most companies prioritise launching innovative therapies in high-income countries due to their greater ability and willingness to pay. This greater funding opportunity allows for earlier adoption of innovative, high-value products, which help to fulfil commercial expectations and realise returns on their research and development investment. As a result, these high-income…
In an unprecedented move, GBR’s (United Kingdom) NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recently recommended NHS (National Health Services) funding of $GSK’s gene therapy STRIMVELIS™ for an ultra-orphan immunodeficiency disorder ADA-SCID1 – also dubbed the “Bubble Baby Syndrome” – at EUR 594,000 (ex-VAT2 price, about USD 700,000). Importantly,…