Clinical leaders at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for Neuro-Oncology were becoming more frustrated with the lack of treatment options for patients suffering from glioblastoma (GBM). The aggressive form of brain cancer, which recently claimed the life of Senator John McCain, is one of the deadliest forms of cancer and has no known cure. Most people diagnosed with the disease die within 15 months and a meager 15 percent survive past five years¹.
Not satisfied with the slow pace of traditional randomized controlled trials studying GBM, Dr. Brian M. Alexander at Dana-Farber decided to act. A...
The drive to value-based care has become a significant issue for biopharma companies as more health plans request value-based contracts. According to McKinsey, over 200 of these innovative contracts have been publicly disclosed since 1994¹. The buzz around the biopharma industry is that these value-based contracts are the wave of the future. Although this trend is likely to continue in the immediate future, the shift to these types of contracts may not survive in the long term. Precision medicine may make them obsolete.
Types of innovative biopharma contracts
The two most prevalent types of...
In the summer of 1996, two new prescription drugs, containing fenfluramine and phentermine, hit the market promising an easy way to lose weight. Use of the products skyrocketed and by mid 1997, almost two million people were taking them¹.
Just over a year later, in September of 1997, both products were abruptly pulled off the market amid growing concerns that use of the drugs may cause serious heart problems. The FDA found evidence that nearly one-third of those taking the drugs might develop a rare form of heart valve damage that could weaken the heart. Three deaths were linked to the use of...
