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.ONCOLOGY
Teleoncology: The youngest pillar of oncology
JCO Glob Oncol. via DocWire News
The core pillars of multimodal care of patients with cancer are surgical, radiation, and medical oncology. The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 has suddenly resurrected a new pillar in oncology care: teleoncology.
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.GENOMICS
DNA changes in the bladder provide clues on how cancer develops
Technology Networks
The first comprehensive study of DNA changes in healthy and diseased human bladder tissue has revealed that 'cancer-driving' mutations are common in healthy bladder tissue. The study, conducted by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge and their collaborators, provides an unprecedented view of the first steps towards bladder cancer.
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Neanderthal genes may be to blame in some severe coronavirus cases
CNN
Genes inherited from Neanderthal ancestors may be involved in some cases of severe COVID-19 disease, researchers in Germany reported Wednesday.
A team of experts on Neanderthal genetics examined a strand of DNA that has been associated with some of the more serious cases of COVID-19 and compared it to sequences known to have been passed down to living Europeans and Asians from Neanderthal ancestors.
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.EMERGING MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES
5 ways COVID-19 is reshaping the medtech industry
Medtech Dive
Come early 2021, the medtech sector will have three quarters of data charting the downturn and recovery in the wake of COVID-19. Regardless of the path forward — a V, a W or something in between — the sharpest of impacts is expected to have peaked in spring 2020.
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A promising breath-test for cancer
Medical Xpress
The global quest to use a person's breath analysis for rapid, inexpensive and accurate early-stage testing for cancer and other diseases has taken a leap forward.
In a new paper in the British Journal of Cancer, Flinders University researchers have reported significant progress in developing a method to test exhaled breath profiles which accurately differentiate head and neck cancer from non-cancer patients.
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New nanotechology design provides hope for personalized vaccination for treating cancer
Phys.org
One of the key challenges in developing effective, targeted cancer treatments is the heterogeneity of the cancer cells themselves. This variation makes it difficult for the immune system to recognize, respond to and actively fight against tumors. Now, however, new advances in nanotechnology are making it possible to deliver targeted, personalized "vaccines" to treat cancer.
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.BIOTECH/DIAGNOSTICS/PERSONALIZED MEDICINE
Precision medicine treatments improve cancer patient outcomes
HealthITAnalytics
Patients with advanced cancer who received precision medicine treatments were more likely to survive or have longer periods without their disease progressing than those who received standard therapies, according to a study published in Nature Communications.
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New support for personalized medicine and cell therapy
Health Europa
Researchers have been awarded grants to help support research on personalized medicine and cell therapy.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s research enterprise Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized Medicine have been awarded Intra-CREATE grants from the National Research Foundation.
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.RENEGERATIVE MEDICINE
Terahertz zaps alter gene activity in stem cells
Phys.org
Terahertz light pulses change gene expression in stem cells, report researchers from Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences and Tokai University in Japan in the journal Optics Letters. The findings come thanks to a new tool, with implications for stem cell research and regenerative therapy development.
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A latent lineage potential in resident neural stem cells enables spinal cord repair
AAAS via Science Magazine
The capacity of a tissue to regenerate itself rests on the potential of its resident cells to replace cells lost to injury. Some tissues, such as skin or intestine, do this remarkably well through the activation of tissue-specific stem cells. Injuries to the central nervous system, in contrast, often lead to permanent functional impairment; some cells lost to injury are never replaced.
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.MANAGED HEALTHCARE NEWS
Virtual reality: Looking to the future of telehealth
Managed Healthcare Executive
In the age of COVID, telehealth and telepsychiatry have gone from alternative solutions to in-person patient care, to necessities that physicians and mental health practitioners have been forced to quickly adopt.
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Are we there yet? A look at 4 value-based care programs
Managed Healthcare Executive
Will COVID-19 accelerate or put the brakes on the move toward value-based payment? Christopher Chen, M.D., CEO of Miami-based ChenMed, says doctors will embrace value over volume as layoffs and work reductions hit hospitals and medical practices that depend on fee for service. Others expect a tendency to hit the pause button as payers and practices sort through the uncertainty stirred up by the pandemic.
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.FDA: NEW TREATMENTS AND TECHNOLOGY
FDA approves drug combination for treating mesothelioma
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
On Oct. 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Opdivo in combination with Yervoy for the first-line treatment of adults with malignant pleural mesothelioma that cannot be removed by surgery. This is the first drug regimen approved for mesothelioma in 16 years and the second FDA-approved systemic therapy for mesothelioma.
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FDA approves mepolizumab for rare blood disorder
Pharmacy Times
The FDA has approved mepolizumab for the treatment of patients aged 12 years and older with hypereosinophilic syndrome.
HES is a group of rare disorders associated with higher than normal levels of a type of disease-fighting white blood cell with evidence of organ damage.
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.ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATIONS
ACOs still face barriers to achieving profitability, care goals
Medical Economics
It’s been a decade since the launch of accountable care organizations, but many are still struggling to realize their original goal: providing high-quality care while lowering, or at least slowing the rise of, the nation’s health care spending.
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Healthcare coalition objects to proposed ACO regulations
Medscape
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which recently trumpeted the success of accountable care organizations in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, is endangering the ability of ACOs to succeed next year by proposing new regulations on how quality is assessed and how quality data is reported, say the National Association of ACOs and leading medical and hospital associations in a Sept. 23 letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
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.NAMCP UPDATES
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| LivaNova PLC, a market-leading medical technology and innovation company, today announced the publication of a new study in the International Journal of Bipolar Disorders that showed adding Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy (VNS Therapy®) to treatment as usual (TAU) significantly improves outcomes in patients with treatment-resistant bipolar depression (TRBD). The study examined patients from a five-year prospective registry and found 63% of TRBD patients treated with adjunctive VNS Therapy in addition to TAU had a significant reduction in depressive symptoms, as measured by a 50% or greater reduction in the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), compared with 39% of patients in the TAU alone group. Click here to view the entire press release. Click here to view the entire press release.
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| Additionally, LivaNova PLC announced a publication in Contemporary Clinical Trials, which details the design for “A Prospective, Multi-center, Randomized Controlled Blinded Trial Demonstrating the Safety and Effectiveness of VNS Therapy® System as Adjunctive Therapy Versus a No Stimulation Control in Subjects With Treatment-Resistant Depression” or the RECOVER clinical study. RECOVER is currently under way as part of a Coverage with Evidence Development framework of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) National Coverage Determination process. Click here to view the entire press release.
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| In late 2018, the National Association of Managed Care Physicians (NAMCP) decided to create the Value Based Care Council (VBCC). The VBCC mission supports empowering medical directors with information and resources to assist them in making value based decisions that support achieving the Triple AIM of improved outcomes and the patient experience while reducing overall costs. The goal is to improve the integration of cost, quality, and access in the clinical decision making process so as to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of extracting value from the associated spend in order to optimize outcomes.
Pursuant to the above, and in response to an unmet need in the marketplace, the VBCC developed a short form in order to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency with which value propositions can be shared between industry and the medical leadership of various payers throughout the country. This same short form provides a concise and consistent manner with which value propositions can be shared and provides the ability to align expectations prior to actually conducting conversations or having a meeting regarding a product or service.
The Product Value Proposition Customer Engagement Short Form can be found on the NAMCP website (www.namcp.org) in the Value Based Care Council subsection of the Councils tab, under tools and resources. Please contact Will Williams at wwilliams@namcp.org with questions or for additional information.
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| Jazz Pharmaceuticals is excited to announce the approval of ZEPZELCA™ (lurbinectedin) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. ZEPZELCA is a second-line therapy that has been studied in both platinum-sensitive and -resistant SCLC patients. Please click here for more information.
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| Takeda Pharmaceuticals is part of, "The Fight Is In Us", an initiative to maximize the individual and societal benefit of COVID-19 plasma. The campaign will focus on recruiting COVID-19 survivors to donate their plasma at licensed blood and plasma donor centers.- If you’ve recovered from #COVID19, your immune system has antibodies that could be used as a treatment. See if you can help others by donating plasma www.TheFightIsInUs.org. #TheFightIsInUS
- The antibodies that helped you or someone you know fight off COVID-19 may be able to help others. Visit www.TheFightIsInUs.org to see if you qualify to donate plasma. #TheFightIsInUs
You are a survivor, now you could be a hero. Plasma from recovered #COVID19 patients could play a key role in creating a potential therapy for coronavirus. Learn how you can donate at www.TheFightIsInUs.org #TheFightIsInUs
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| Biodesix, Inc., a leading diagnostic company in lung disease, recently announced a partnership with Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb) to bring a COVID-19 Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) test to the FDA for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) approval to support the escalating need for testing in the U.S. Two studies published this month, ahead of peer review, reported that ddPCR testing showed superior sensitivity and precision for clinical detection of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) compared to existing test methods that are performed using qPCR. Biodesix currently has a focus on lung disease and offers other diagnostic testing for lung cancer utilizing the ddPCR platform.Click here for more information.
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| "Modeling Cost-Effectiveness of On-Demand Treatment for Hereditary Angioedema Attack" was recently published in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy's February 2020 issue. Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare disease that causes painful and potentially fatal episodes of swelling (attacks). HAE attacks can be unpredictable and the need to treat sudden attacks promptly and effectively is critical to minimize risk of hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality. A cost-effectiveness model was evaluated that considers evaluation of on-demand medications, healthcare utilization and patient well-being. For access to the publication, please click here.
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| Biodesix, Inc. announced initiation of the next phase of their biomarker development program with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and Pfizer Inc. The companies have completed initial discovery and development of a new proteomic test that identifies likely responders to the anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor (BAVENCIO®) (avelumab). Development efforts will now focus on transferring the test into Biodesix's CLIA lab in Boulder, CO for clinical phase test validation. The new test was developed through retrospective analysis of the circulating proteome of cancer patients treated with the investigational drug candidate, utilizing the proprietary Biodesix Diagnostic Cortex™ artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Click here to read the full press release.
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| The NAMCP Medical Directors Institute recently held the first meeting of its Executive Leadership Council (ELC) at the recent Fall Managed Care Forum. The NAMCP Medical Directors Institute decided in late 2018 to create the Value Based Care Council (VBCC) with a mission to empower medical directors with information and resources to assist them in making value based decisions that support achieving the Triple AIM of improved outcomes and the patient experience while reducing overall costs. Click here to view an overview of the genesis, formation, and work of NAMCP's Value Based Care Council. Please click here to view the press release.
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| LivaNova PLC (NASDAQ:LIVN), a market-leading medical technology and innovation company, today announced the first patient enrolled in "A Prospective, Multi-center, Randomized Controlled Blinded Trial Demonstrating the Safety and Effectiveness of VNS Therapy® System as Adjunctive Therapy Versus a No Stimulation Control in Subjects With Treatment-Resistant Depression" (RECOVER). The study will evaluate Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy (VNS Therapy) for Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) in accordance with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) National Coverage Determination as part of its Coverage with Evidence Development Program. The first patient was enrolled by Dr. Azfar Malik in St. Louis. Click here to read the full press release.
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| Biodesix, Inc. this week highlighted findings from multiple studies demonstrating the significance and clinical utility of its VeriStrat® blood-based proteomic test as a predictive biomarker for patient survival outcomes and as a diagnostic tool to improve the clinical management of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This information is vital to implementing optimal treatment strategies for patients and supports disease state monitoring. To date, VeriStrat testing has helped more than 50,000 patients in determining the best treatment for their lung cancer. Click here to see the full press release. | |
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