September 26
IN THIS ISSUE / September 26, 2018
- Drug prices spike after shortages
- September Access Hero: Dr. Jonathan Silverberg
- Dupilumab improves adolescent atopic dermatitis, quality of life
Drug prices spike after shortages
According to a report in Bloomberg, drug prices increased at nearly twice their usual rate after a shortage. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Medical School reviewed the prices of 90 different drugs that went into shortage between December 2015 and December 2016. They found that the prices increased an average of 16% in the 11 months after the shortage began, compared with the 7% increase in the previous 11 months.
This study is the first to quantify the “mysterious jumps in the prices of vital medicines” once in short supply. The price hikes were particularly noticeable for 77 drugs, that had three or fewer suppliers. Prices of those medicines increased by an average of 27% in the 11 months following the shortage — higher than the 12% rate in the preceding 11-month period.
Learn more about what’s happening with drug shortages and what’s being done to resolve the problem in Dermatology World.
Related Links:
- A tangled web: What’s being done to bring costs down – Dermatology World (September 2017)
- Drug price circus – Dermatology World (January 2016)
September Access Hero: Dr. Jonathan Silverberg
Jonathan Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH, created the Northwestern Medicine Eczema Center, that brings together many specialists to form a comprehensive, coordinated care experience for eczema patients. Learn how Dr. Silverberg fosters collaboration for better patient experiences.
Each month, the Academy highlights members’ diverse efforts to expand access to dermatology. Submit your story at skinserious.org.
Related Links:
- Access granted: Improving access for referrals – Dermatology World (October 2017)
- For your patients: Is it possible to control eczema?
- AAD product: Simulated Patient Encounter – Medication Management
Dupilumab improves adolescent atopic dermatitis, quality of life
New phase 3 trial data reports that dupilumab (Dupixent) significantly improves symptoms in adolescents with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD), reported MD Magazine. In the study, 251 patients ages 12 to 17 with moderate-to-severe AD were placed into three groups: patients receiving dupilumab every two weeks; patients receiving the drug every four weeks; and those who received placebo every two weeks.
For the group of patients receiving dupilumab ever two weeks, 41.5% achieved EASI-75, compared with 38% of patients receiving therapy every four weeks and just 8% of patients receiving placebo. Patients in the two-week dupilumab group also led in IGA-based skin lesion metrics — 24% reached a score of 0-1, versus 18% of patients in the four-week group, and 2% in the placebo group.
In addition to an improvement in EASI scores after 16 weeks (66% in two-week patients; 65% in four-week patients), all patients who received dupilumab had significantly improved scores in quality of life scales.
How have drugs like dupilumab and crisaborale changed AD treatment? What new AD drugs are on the way? Learn more in Dermatology World.
- Should systemic steroids be avoided in atopic dermatitis? – Dermatology World (July 2018)
- Is atopic dermatitis actually a systemic inflammatory disorder? – Dermatology World (May 2017)
- Playing the angles: New treatments target potential pathways for atopic dermatitis – Dermatology World (December 2017)
- AAD web: Atopic dermatitis clinical guidelines
