New survey research sponsored by the Drug Information Association indicates that a country with a strong regulatory commitment for advancing drugs for rare diseases does better in getting orphan drugs to patients than countries with lesser regulatory frameworks.
In his study, ‘The Effect of Market-Based Economic Factors on the Adoption of Orphan Drugs Across Multiple Countries,’ John Matthews, Associate Director of Project Management at Merck examined the relationship between how market-based a country is, and how many patients with rare disease actually receive approved treatments for their disorder. Contrary to the widely held belief that the more free-market a country is, the more likely drugs will be adopted, Matthews found that countries with more regulation actually did a better job of getting orphan drugs into the hands of patients. In other words, in examining data from 13 orphan drugs across US, Germany, UK, Spain, and France, the US was actually the least successful in providing access.
Using the Index of Economic Freedoms and the Economic Freedoms of the World Index, the study used business, labor, and trade restrictions; government spending; prevalence of corruption; taxation rates, and other economic factors to assess how free-market these countries were at the time of study. While Matthews initially hypothesized that ‘Countries with more market-based economies will be associated with a greater adoption of orphan drugs’, with adoption defined as ‘purchase of an orphan drug’, he noted that the exact opposite was true. “Based off of general economics, the literature out there suggests countries with greater economic freedoms are more efficient markets. But perhaps those mechanisms are not at work in the orphan drug market. No one has examined this issue from an orphan drug perspective, real time Location system,” he said.
Matthews looks to study this issue in greater detail, examining reimbursement systems across these different markets and how they affect orphan drug adoption. Additionally, his study points out the fact that there is no central organization that represents the views of patient groups, and thereby there is no hard data on how they affect access. “There are several organizations aspiring to this role, including the Genetic Alliance, and the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), but I don’t think anyone’s assuming a coordination role. There’s a lot of anecdotal information on patient groups’ wielding their clout to increase drug adoption, but no empirical research discussing observable impacts a patient advocacy group can have on adoption,” he explained. The patient movement in the US has been more robust in its influence, with its close connection to the needs and actions of patients, contrasted with the EU’s more paternalistic approach, focused on governments’ invention to sponsor groups to suit patient needs. Clearly, while patients in the US have a particular flair for advocacy, the relationship between this effort and its ability to move the access needle warrants closer examination.
Matthews does not believe a study looking at newer datasets from a broader range of countries and orphan drugs will produce different results. At the end of the day, he explains, “The results of this study basically say that greater government regulations are able to support better delivery of these medicines. Intervention is an option that can work.”
“Our summits have a proven track record of turning handshakes into Montana jobs. The more we get focused on jobs and work together, the closer we can get to the day when no Montanan is forced to leave the state to find a good-paying job,” said Baucus. “The key to success is getting all hands on deck which is why I encourage Montanans to join us in September in Butte.”
The jobs summit will feature all-star keynote speakers including some of the most innovative business leaders of our time along with ambassadors from some of the world’s most dynamic economies. The summit will also feature more than 40 breakout panel sessions tailored to every aspect of business from writing a business plan to getting your business online, learning how to export and the best ways to access capital.
Montana Economic Development Summits have resulted in hundreds of new Montana jobs over the years by bringing new private investment to the state and helping elevate Montana’s top notch goods and services at the global level.
Keynote speakers this year will include Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, former Presidential candidate and international businessman Jon Huntsman, Jr., Alan Mulally of Ford Motor Company, Oracle’s Safra Catz, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney, founder of FedEx Fred Smith, Delta’s Richard Anderson and, Montana’s own, Ryan Lance, CEO of ConocoPhillips.
You also get a richly detailed, high-definition 3D cartoon world, compared to the standard-definition Skylanders: Giants from last year and Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure from the year before. Your characters can also jump. That’s right. Now they can jump around and get themselves out of nasty cul-de-sacs. The Skylanders can also fly, climb, and teleport to special areas in the environment. The level cap is now 20 for each character. That makes the title more difficult to master.
Players will have more than 100 forward-compatible toys available from the three games — including never-before seen non-swappable characters from the upcoming release. For some, that’s bound to get a little confusing. But the new Swap Force characters have symbols on the bases of their toy counterparts that tell you what type of Swap Force power they have. The marks indicate where you can best use those creatures in the Skylands.
As Portal Master, you will embark on a new adventure in the mysterious Cloudbreak Islands in the sky. They are the home to a mystical volcano that erupts every hundred years to replenish the magic in the Skylands. During an epic battle, the volcano’s eruption hit a group of Skylanders, blasting them apart and giving them the ability to swap halves. The evil leader Kaos has come back with a scheme to “evilize” characters using the power of petrified darkness. The Portal Master must buy as many Swap Force creatures as possible (are you listening parents?) and reassemble them into new forms to save the Skylands. Actually, that’s a joke. You can get through the whole experience with the three heroes in the $75 starter pack.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.
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