Pharmacy News Article

2009 MAY 18 - (NewsRx.com) The Healthcare Channel (http://thehcc.tv/) hosted a live video healthcare reform summit on May 1. Video archives are now available upon request. The topic of comparative effectiveness was discussed and led by the Chairman of UKs NICE, Sir Michael Rawlins, and Johnson and Johnsons VP for Health Policy, Kathy Buto (see also The Healthcare Channel).

Recently funded by federal spending, comparative effectiveness is the top concern for healthcare executives, according to an Ernst and Young report. The concern is whether it will be a Trojan horse opening up the ability for Medicare to factor in cost effectiveness, as the NICE does now.

Rawlins began by pointing out the fundamental differences between the UK and American healthcare systems. The UK is a tax-funded system and spends half per GDP what the American system does. The UK has to take into account value for money and factor in cost effectiveness of drugs and devices as well as whether they are clinically effective.

Rawlins emphasized that the government is not the decision maker for coverage of therapies. A panel of doctors and industry representatives make the decision in a process by the people, for the people. He said that NICE has to make some hard decisions. A drug may be clinically effective but not cost effective. Only 10% of the time is a drug or device rejected.

Kathy Buto explained JNJs stance. JNJ supports a National enterprise that includes panels of doctors and industry representatives, as NICE does. The process should be transparent and inclusive. She mentioned that the clinical data for the comparative effectiveness should come from real world registries and trials, and that industry funding should still be utilized for these research efforts.

Ms. Buto explained that A real fear of government taking a strong role in cost effectiveness exists. She pointed out that the Congressional Budget Office estimated that cost effectiveness measures would result in a relatively modest cost savings.

During the roundtable discussion, Mark Schoenebaum, MD, senior biotech analyst for Deutsche Bank commented on the impact of cost effectiveness to the high-priced drugs in biotech. Some of the decisions from NICE on expensive biotech cancer drugs are defendable.