Association of protein tyrosine phosphatase non receptor type 22 (PTPN22) C1858T gene polymorphism with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Egyptian children cohort

Background: The protein tyrosine phosphatase non receptor 22 gene (PTPN22) is an important negative regulator of signal transduction through the T-cell receptors. Recently a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) 1858 C/T within this gene was shown to be a risk factor for several autoimmune diseases. Aim: To analyze a possible association between 1858 C/T SNP and T1DM in Egyptian cohort. Patients and methods: Patients with T1DM and healthy controls were genotyped for the 1858 C/T SNP in PTPN22 gene. Results: A non-significant association between PTPN22 1858 C/T SNP and T1DM was found. 1858T/T genotype was not observed more frequently in T1DM patients compared to control subjects. Conclusion: In concordance with previous data establishing PTPN22 1858 C/T SNP association with several autoimmune diseases, our findings deny further evidence that the PTPN22 gene may play an important role in the susceptibility to T1DM

Implications of external price referencing of pharmaceuticals in Middle East countries

<div><p>Introduction: External price referencing (EPR) is applied frequently to control pharmaceutical prices. Our objective was to analyse how EPR is used in Middle Eastern (ME) countries and to compare the price corridor for original pharmaceuticals to non-pharmaceutical services not subjected to EPR. Methods: We conducted a survey on EPR regulations and collected prices of 16 patented pharmaceuticals and 14 non-pharmaceutical services in seven Middle Eastern (ME) countries. Maximum and minimum prices of each pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical technology were compared to mean prices in the countries studied by using market exchange rates. Influencing factors of pharmaceutical prices were assessed by multivariate linear regression analysis. Results: The average price corridor is narrower for pharmaceuticals (−39.8%; +35.9%) than for outpatient and hospital services (−81.7%; +96.3%). Conclusion: Our analysis revealed the importance of population size and EPR implementation on drug price levels; however, EPR results in higher pharmaceutical prices in lower-income countries compared to non-pharmaceutical services.</p></div