by Neil Betteridge, Strategic Advisor, GAfPA The Societal Impact of Pain (SIP) Steering Committee met in Brussels today, 4 October 2017, to plan the forward strategy for the campaign. This meeting was attended by around 40 key stakeholders involved in the pain policy agenda in Europe. The partners leading SIP 2018 will once more be … Continued
Drug safety issues have caused more than 200,000 patient deaths in the EU. And one in three U.S. drugs may have safety issues, explains a new “Fast Facts” from the Global Alliance for Patient Access. The paper explores how countries track and trace prescription drug side effects – and why advanced medicine demands a stronger … Continued
When should patients switch from one medicine to another for non-medical reasons? How can pharmacovigilance processes successfully monitor patients’ reactions to a medicine? And, perhaps most importantly, how do we ensure that patients are informed participants in decisions about their medication? These questions and others framed a May 4-5 advocacy workshop in Munich, hosted … Continued
On January 13th and 14th, the Global Alliance for Patient Access (GAfPA) and Agora, a platform of organizations of people with rheumatic diseases in Southern Europe, held a workshop in Budapest for patient advocates. The aim of this event was to provide patient groups with a greater understanding of the current landscape for biologic and … Continued
“Brain Mind Pain” is an MEP interest group that makes an unusual connection. It brings together common interests from disparate disease areas – neurological conditions, mental health and chronic pain. Its most recent effort was a March 8 meeting entitled “Optimising the European Social Pillar to #MakeWorkWork for those affected by Brain, Mind and Pain … Continued
European and global drug bodies have joined forces to send a strong message: when it comes to decisions around biosimilar switching, clinicians and patients must come first. In a joint statement released this week, three industry trade bodies came together to stress that physicians and patients must be central to the decision-making process. They added … Continued
By Brian Kennedy, Executive Director, Global Alliance for Patient Access A new position paper from the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation has garnered attention from physicians and patient advocates across Europe. The paper supports switching inflammatory bowel disease patients from an infliximab biologic medicine to a biosimilar – a position that some readers have misinterpreted as an endorsement for switching all patients to … Continued
by Brian Kennedy and David Charles Published in the Hippocratic Post, November 15, 2016 Biosimilar medicines have been the hot subject of debate for a number of years. But as health systems around the world face continued budget squeezes and seek to increase the number of patients treated with biosimilars, the use of these less expensive … Continued
By Brian Kennedy, Executive Director, Global Alliance for Patient Access This month’s World Health Organization Open Sessions with INN Stakeholders explored the value, and the future, of the biological qualifier system. The Global Alliance for Patient Access was pleased to present to WHO officials and an international group of fellow stakeholders. While there, I conveyed … Continued
Published in the Pharma Letter 18 October 2016 Expert View Earlier this month, initial results from a biosimilar switching study called “NOR-SWITCH” were released at the annual United European Gastroenterology Week meeting in Vienna. Data from switching studies such as these have the potential to impact how biologic medicines are used around the world. … Continued