Forecasting pharmaceutical expenditure in Europe : adjusting for the impact of rebates and discounts

European healthcare systems are under constant pressure to contain healthcare expenditure. Understanding future drug expenditure is an important consideration for payers when formulating policies. QuintileIMS publishes European forecasts that are underpinned by its audited volume data and publicly available list prices. With increasing price pressures, list to net price divergence is growing, although some of this information is commercially sensitive and thus not publicly available. The objective of this study was to further develop an established forecast to account for this divergence and explore its impact

Endomembranes promote chromosome missegregation by ensheathing misaligned chromosomes

Errors in mitosis that cause chromosome missegregation lead to aneuploidy and micronucleus formation, which are associated with cancer. Accurate segregation requires the alignment of all chromosomes by the mitotic spindle at the metaphase plate, and any misalignment must be corrected before anaphase is triggered. The spindle is situated in a membrane-free “exclusion zone”; beyond this zone, endomembranes (mainly endoplasmic reticulum) are densely packed. We investigated what happens to misaligned chromosomes localized beyond the exclusion zone. Here we show that such chromosomes become ensheathed in multiple layers of endomembranes. Chromosome ensheathing delays mitosis and increases the frequency of chromosome missegregation and micronucleus formation. We use an induced organelle relocalization strategy in live cells to show that clearance of endomembranes allows for the rescue of chromosomes that were destined for missegregation. Our findings indicate that endomembranes promote the missegregation of misaligned chromosomes that are outside the exclusion zone and therefore constitute a risk factor for aneuploidy

Does NICE influence the adoption and uptake of generics in the UK?

The aim of this paper is to examine generic competition in the UK, with a special focus on the role of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) on generic market entry and diffusion. In the UK, where no direct price regulation on pharmaceuticals exists, HTA has a leading role for recommending the use of medicines providing a non-regulatory aspect that may influence the dynamics in the generic market. The paper focuses on the role of Technology Appraisals issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). We follow a two-step approach. First, we examine the probability of generic entry. Second, conditional on generic entry, we examine the determinants of generic market share. We use data from IQVIA British Pharmaceutical Index (BPI) for the primary care market for 60 products that lost patent between 2003 and 2012. Our results suggest that market size remains one of the main drivers of generic entry. After controlling for market size, intermolecular substitution and difficulty of manufacturing increase the likelihood of generic entry. After generic entry, our estimates suggest that generic market share is highly state dependent. Our findings also suggest that while NICE recommendations do influence generic uptake, there is only marginal evidence they affect generic entry

Hybrid fly ash-based geopolymeric foams: Microstructural, thermal and mechanical properties

This research investigates the preparation and characterization of new organic-inorganic geopolymeric foams obtained by simultaneously reacting coal fly ash and an alkali silicate solution with polysiloxane oligomers. Foaming was realized in situ using Si0 as a blowing agent. Samples with density ranging from0.3 to 0.7 g/cm3 that show good mechanical properties (with compressive strength up to ≈5 MPa for a density of 0.7 g/cm3) along with thermal performances (λ = 0.145 ± 0.001 W/m·K for the foamed sample with density 0.330 g/cm3) comparable to commercial lightweight materials used in the field of thermal insulation were prepared. Since these foams were obtained by valorizing waste byproducts, they could be considered as low environmental impact materials and, hence, with promising perspectives towards the circular economy

Microstructure, mechanical, and thermogravimetric characterization of cellulosic by-products obtained from biomass seeds

The microstructural, thermal, and nanomechanical characterization of biomass by-products coming from the food industry were studied. Scanning electron microscopy showed a microstructure formed by polygonal grains. The thermal behavior of seeds, evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis, revealed three main components (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin). Walnut shell showed the highest thermal stability and also the highest amount of lignin. The nanomechanical aspects were evaluated by nanoindentation. Samples with higher amount of cellulose presented minor modulus values. In accordance with the thermal stability, the highest modulus and hardness were observed in walnut. These by-products could be useful as reinforcement materials for biodegradable plastic industry.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MAT2011-28468-C02-02) and the Autonomous Government of Valencia (Spain) through the research program Geronimo Forteza (62/2010, 9 de Junio DOCV no 6291). M.P. Arrieta is granted by Santiago Grisolia program (GRISOLIA/2011/007).Rayón Encinas, E.; Ferrándiz Bou, S.; Rico Beneito, MI.; López Martínez, J.; Arrieta, MP. (2015). Microstructure, mechanical, and thermogravimetric characterization of cellulosic by-products obtained from biomass seeds. International Journal of Food Properties. 18(6):1211-1222. https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2014.884578S1211122218

Policy instruments (‎non-price)‎ for medical innovation

Innovation policy instruments are policy interventions with a specific mechanism of action that influences the innovation process. This Oslo Medicines Initiative technical report presents a broad range of such instruments available to national policy-makers in support of innovation for new medicines (excluding those focused on price, which are covered elsewhere in the report series). This report explores various types of policy instruments, based on reviews of the literature on policies for innovation in the medical and other sectors. For each type identified, the report explores the mechanisms of action, the effects these have and where they occur, and the extent to which these instruments have been implemented globally. It also sets out considerations for their effective implementation. The report demonstrates that the long-established push/pull (supply/ demand) framing that dominates discourse around medical innovation can be broadened, providing policy-makers with instruments to supplement push/pull approaches, by emphasizing the role of communication, collaboration and coordination in supporting the emergence of medicines to address societal needs

The fidelity of synaptonemal complex assembly is regulated by a signaling mechanism that controls early meiotic progression

© 2014 Elsevier Inc.Proper chromosome segregation during meiosis requires the assembly of the synaptonemal complex (SC) between homologous chromosomes. However, the SC structure itself is indifferent to homology, andpoorly understood mechanisms that depend on conserved HORMA-domain proteins prevent ectopic SC assembly. Although HORMA-domain proteins are thought to regulate SC assembly as intrinsic components of meiotic chromosomes, here we uncover a key role for nuclear soluble HORMA-domain protein HTP-1 in the quality control of SC assembly. We show that a mutant form of HTP-1 impaired in chromosome loading provides functionality of an HTP-1-dependent checkpoint that delays exit from homology search-competent stages until all homolog pairs are linked by the SC. Bypassing of this regulatory mechanism results in premature meiotic progression and licensing of homology-independent SC assembly. These findings identify nuclear soluble HTP-1 as a regulator of early meiotic progression, suggesting parallels with the mode of action of Mad2 in the spindle assembly checkpoint

Benchmarking of T cell receptor repertoire profiling methods reveals large systematic biases

Monitoring the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in health and disease can provide key insights into adaptive immune responses, but the accuracy of current TCR sequencing (TCRseq) methods is unclear. In this study, we systematically compared the results of nine commercial and academic TCRseq methods, including six rapid amplification of complementary DNA ends (RACE)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and three multiplex-PCR approaches, when applied to the same T cell sample. We found marked differences in accuracy and intra- and inter-method reproducibility for T cell receptor α (TRA) and T cell receptor β (TRB) TCR chains. Most methods showed a lower ability to capture TRA than TRB diversity. Low RNA input generated non-representative repertoires. Results from the 5' RACE-PCR methods were consistent among themselves but differed from the RNA-based multiplex-PCR results. Using an in silico meta-repertoire generated from 108 replicates, we found that one genomic DNA-based method and two non-unique molecular identifier (UMI) RNA-based methods were more sensitive than UMI methods in detecting rare clonotypes, despite the better clonotype quantification accuracy of the latter