I admire President Biden for trying for a cancer cure moonshot but unfortunately, cancer is not just one disease; it’s many with a range of different causes, physiologies, and treatments. What treatment works in one patient may not work in another but we have to keep trying to beat cancer anyway we can.
Category Archive: As I See It
The pharma industry’s reputation continues to slip from a pandemic halo-high of 62% in February 2021 to now when fewer than half, just 47%, of people have a favorable view of the industry, according to the Harris Poll’s latest survey. (Source: Endpoints News) Does anyone believe that pharma cares?
Although reported COVID-19 deaths between Jan 1, 2020, and Dec 31, 2021, totaled 5·94 million worldwide, we estimate that 18·2 million (95% uncertainty interval 17·1–19·6) people died worldwide because of the COVID-19 pandemic (as measured by excess mortality) over that period. (Source: The Lancet). Overt politicization of the pandemic—and the speed with which falsehoods about all aspects of COVID-19 have spread online, over the airwaves, and through media—are significant reasons why the U.S. has suffered a far greater COVID-related death toll than other large, well-resourced nations.
AbbVie’s wall of patents protecting its top-selling drug Humira will keep another would-be competitor from entering the U.S. market until next year, with the pharmaceutical company announcing Tuesday a settlement with the Iceland-based Alvotech. Sales of Humira earned AbbVie $20.7 billion last year, the highest total for any pharmaceutical product and they will do anything to keep that money.
How could ANYONE think that the deaths from COVID are acceptable and just part of the virus? While data from COVID will be coming out for years, the public already has questions, and they aren’t going to like the answers.
Biotech start-ups face challenges in raising money and cutting through the “noise” of other prominent pharma marketers, but their website can provide a wealth of insights into what visitors want to know.
Digital health companies aim to address the numerous health care challenges, including poor patient engagement, communication gaps between patients and providers, lack of longitudinal data, inconvenience of care delivery, and insufficient clinical decision support for providers and patients. Maybe, however, they should check with patients first.
American healthcare is the most expensive globally, but it’s not close to being the best. Our healthcare system has become like a mass-market retailer, in the door to treat the problem and out the door with an Rx or other treatment recommendation. What’s missing is the basic premise of any good care: the focus on the person, not just the condition.