Lots of talk about international reference pricing today. With that in mind, sharing this great article by @leah-rand.bsky.social and @akesselheim.bsky.social from @portalresearch.org! www.valueinhealthjournal.com/article/S109...

⭐Out now from Dr. Jerry Avorn— RETHINKING MEDICATIONS: Truth, Power, and the Drugs You Take In his new book, Dr. Avorn explains why some of the medications we take are poorly evaluated, overpriced, or pose unwarranted risks—and how we fix that. 📖 Grab a copy today: rethinkmeds.info

New op-ed with @drjoshs.bsky.social and Peter Lurie about the agenda-driven reality of 'radical transparency' -- www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

WATCH: @akesselheim.bsky.social testifies before @waysmeanscmte.bsky.social On NIH cuts - "...the next generation will look back at this moment & ask what we were doing while the Trump administration systematically disposed of 1000s of research projects that could've helped patients."

At 10am Eastern Time, watch as our Editor-in-Chief, @akesselheim.bsky.social , gives testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee on "Lowering Costs for Patients: The Health of the Biosimilar Market." www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_rh...

Tune in TODAY at 10am ET as PORTAL Director Aaron Kesselheim @akesselheim.bsky.social testifies before the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee: He'll discuss the biosimilar market, threats to US biomedical research funding, & the need to protect & expand Medicare drug price negotiation.

Starting in January 2025, various government health datasets were removed, restored, manipulated, or not posted as planned. The authors of a new Perspective write that the consequences of these changes could be far-reaching. Read the full Perspective: nej.md/4bYvujL #MedSky #HealthPolicy

Just out @jama.com Led by Dr Hwang we show when oncology drugs withdrawn due to negative trials are still accessible off-abel, prescribing plummets anyway Romidepsin a notable exception, unsurprising to lymphoma docs who use it in TFH lymphomas jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... @portalresearch.org

Check out the latest research from the PORTAL team in the April edition of our newsletter, featuring analysis on generic drug 'skinny labeling,' the expansion of the 340B program, a new form of product hopping, and much more! 🛟🧪 mailchi.mp/57ccd5e0b342...

NEW in @nejm.org: Janet Freilich & couthors discuss the sudden removal of critical health datasets by US federal health agencies—undermining research, public health, & policy-making. Though lawsuits have restored some data, the authors call for broader action to keep taxpayer-funded data public. 🛟

Our latest in @nejm.org on the dilemmas of treating patients with chronic lung disease. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

New perspective in @nejm.org from Peter Ubel, Astrid Grouls, & @akesselheim.bsky.social on the financial toxicity patients face from high-cost drugs with uncertain clinical benefits, & the remedies available to policymakers to mitigate financial harms while drugs undergo further review.

Analysis from former @portalresearch.org fellow Catherine Hwang and @benro.me showing the extent of out-of-pocket costs associated with starting brand-name Entresto over ACEI/ARB for heart failure and implications for overall spending: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Survey of clozapine prescribers shows satisfaction with the REMS but desire for more educational info, led by @asarpatwari.bsky.social & team at @portalresearch.org in collab with FDA, where world class scientists are sadly being censored and forced out of their jobs: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Physicians who receive money from inhaler manufacturers prescribe more inhalers in the future. New findings from Hasan Nadeem, @wbfeldman.bsky.social &co: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39937634/

🔎 New in JAMA IM: Avik Ray, @wbfeldman.bsky.social & colleagues assess the comparative effectiveness of diabetes drugs in COPD patients. They find GLP-1s & SGLT-2s are associated with lower risks of moderate or severe COPD exacerbations vs. DPP-4s during follow-up: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Check out the February edition of the PORTAL Post, featuring analysis on: - the promise and risk of drug repurposing, - drug importation to address shortages, - use of subgroup analysis in cost-effectiveness studies - biosimilar patent litigation, - and much more! #medsky #healthpolicy

New from Chris Cai, @akesselheim.bsky.social and @benro.me in JAMA: Despite having gone off patent decades ago, repurposing the antidepressant doxepin for insomnia has led to persistent high prices even though generics are available, highlighting the need for policy reform in drug repurposing.

New piece led by Anushka Bhaskar @portalresearch.org in STAT First Opinion on protecting public health agencies from damaging political interference -- even the threat of which can greatly affect people's behavior: www.statnews.com/2025/01/31/p...

From Rosa Ahn-Horst @portalresearch.org -- psychiatric drug innovation over the last decade shows widespread use of clinical endpoints but few new mechanisms of action and 3/16 drugs for which < half the trials submitted to FDA were positive (in JAMA Network Open): jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

🚨 Just out today (online)! 🚨 Our results show that a common argument against #QALYs (based on the use of subgroup analyses) is not justified with empirical data. With co-authors: @leah-rand.bsky.social , @wbfeldman.bsky.social, & @akesselheim.bsky.social from @portalresearch.org.

📣 Check out the latest in @nejm.org from PORTAL and collaborators at @cfr.org on the role of importation in alleviating generic drug shortages in the short term, particularly for generic sterile injectable drugs.

📣Tune in tomorrow, January 16 at 5pm GMT/12pm ET for a Consilium Scientific webinar led by PORTAL collaborator Ariadna Tibau! This talk will discuss efforts to identify & prioritize cancer treatments with meaningful clinical benefit & value to patients. Register here: mailchi.mp/consilium-sc...

I'm excited to share a new study out today in @bmj.com comparing the two single-inhaler triple therapies on the US market. Brief thread below! www.bmj.com/content/387/...

Nice @nytimes.com summary of some GOOD recommendations for reforming the #FDA… from experts including from @portalresearch.org director @akesselheim.bsky.social. 🩺📊🛟 www.nytimes.com/2024/12/22/w...

Important win today for the generic drug industry and patients with asthma and COPD. The Federal Circuit ruled that Teva's patents on the delivery device of its ProAir HFA inhaler were impermissibly listed in the Orange Book. patentlyo.com/patent/2024/...

New in JAMA Oncology: Bishal Gyawali & colleagues detail US government contributions to the development of Xtandi, an important (and high-cost) prostate cancer drug. They find the government contributed at least $74 million to the drug's development: t.co/JbsmP3eFh3

The wrong ways and right ways to reform the FDA in the new administration - new in Health Affairs Forefront from me and Josh Sharfstein: www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...

🚨New @portalresearch.org paper🚨 in JAMA Health Forum. HIGHLIGHTS: 🔵 Biosimilars made up <2% of adalimumab use in 2023. 🔵 Net prices dropped by >40%...but the Humira list price increased. Meaning: Abbvie payed confidential rebates to maintain Humira dominance. 💊🩺📊 📜 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Financial toxicity in cancer meds: @portalresearch.org's collaborator @eddiecliff.bsky.social and others review the potential financial implications of receiving vorasidenib for glioma and how different countries manage the high cost: academic.oup.com/nop/advance-...

🚨 Fresh insights on #HealthAndVeritas! We’re joined by @AKesselheim (@BrighamWomens, @HarvardMed) to discuss FDA reforms, Medicare coverage for obesity drugs, & the power of standing for integrity in health policy. Listen now: https://buff.ly/4f4MjsY @thehowie #HealthPolicy #FDAReform @thehowie

🔊Tune into the latest episode of the #HealthAndVeritas podcast hosted by @hmkyale.bsky.social & @thehowie.bsky.social feat. PORTAL Director @akesselheim.bsky.social! They discuss a range of Rx policy topics, including Chevron deference, FDA advisory committees, the value of NIH funding, & more!

Check out the latest research from PORTAL in the December edition of our monthly newsletter! Featuring analyses on vaccine hesitancy, patent thickets, march-in rights, antibiotic prescribing and more. Sign up here: eepurl.com/iQSXmU

New Perspective in NEJM models the impact of recent proposals by USPTO and Congress to try to clear thickets of questionably innovative drug patents. Awesome graphics! With @portalresearch.org's Sean Tu, Bernard Chao, Ryan Whalen: www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1...

High prescription drug costs in the US hinder patient access to medication, but there are strategies that clinical teams can use to help patients manage these costs. https://ja.ma/4eQizjM

New in JGIM: Dongzhe Hong & coauthors discuss the results of a physician survey on antibiotic prescribing preferences. They find clinicians prioritize clinical outcomes over other factors like patient cost or risk of antibiotic resistance in deciding which antibiotic to prescribe. #idsky

New paper out at @jamacurrent.bsky.social led by @ojwouters.bsky.social on the empirical assumptions underlying differential protection for biologics & small-molecule drugs. Upshot: We found no good evidence supporting differential treatment by FDA (or under IRA). jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

As stakeholders await final federal guidance on the use of government march-in rights, @roosterjish.bsky.social, @akesselheim.bsky.social, & Steve Knievel (@publiccitizen.bsky.social) outline a set of 7 key factors agencies should consider when deciding to use march-in rights to lower drug prices.

Among the government-funded academic inventors on US drug patents, the majority were senior researchers at prestigious institutions. https://ja.ma/48YWpKB

📣PORTAL is hiring! 📣 There are less than 2 weeks left to apply for our Postdoctoral and General Medicine Fellowships, both with a focus on pharmaceutical law, health policy, and health services research. Apply by December 1, 2024. Learn more: mailchi.mp/3e02f38a708b/portal-hiring-2025

And for more detail, check out the Perspective article by me, @akesselheim.bsky.social, and @wbfeldman.bsky.social. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

🎙️New NEJM audio interview recapping where we are with Medicare price negotiation and how to think about the results from the first 10 drugs. #healthpolicy #medsky @portalresearch.bsky.social www.nejm.org/do/10.1056/N...

Check out the new NEJM audio interview with @bnrome.bsky.social about the outcomes and future prospects of Medicare drug price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act after 1 year - from @portalresearch.bsky.social: www.nejm.org/do/10.1056/N...

New study from @roosterjish.bsky.social @portalresearch.bsky.social @publiccitizen.bsky.social: which drugs are candidates for considering government march-in rights if found that excessive prices are affecting patient access (e.g., Xtandi, Erleada, Vyndamax): www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...

Check out the latest from PORTAL in JHPPL on the lasting effect politics can have on vaccine hesitancy, using the FDA approval and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the run-up to the 2020 election as a case study. #publichealth doi.org/10.1215/03616878-11670184

How can clinicians help their patients afford costly medications?? 💊💰 In a recent JAMA review, we outlined an algorithm and talk about the pros and cons of several options, including copay cards, pharmacy coupons, and more. #Medsky 🩺📊 @portalresearch.bsky.social jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

NEW in JAMA Pediatrics: Using data from the Children's Oncology Group, @asarpatwari.bsky.social & coauthors find that manufacturer revenue from the 6-month pediatric exclusivity granted to 4 oncology drugs exceeded the costs of conducting the required pediatric clinical trials. #rxsky #healthpolicy

👋 PORTAL is now on Bluesky! Follow us for the latest research from our team on prescription drug pricing, regulation, law, and policy. And, to get PORTAL research directly in your inbox each month, subscribe to our newsletter: eepurl.com/iQSXmU #healthpolicy #rxsky #medsky #lawsky #econsky