Comparison of Uptake and Prices of Biosimilars in the US, Germany, and Switzerland.

Importance: Biologics account for a substantial proportion of health care expenditures. Their costs have been projected to reach US $452 billion in global spending by 2022. Given recent expiration of patent protection of biologics, a shift toward greater follow-on competition among biosimilars would be expected that would allow greater uptake and lower drug costs.

Price changes and within-class competition of cancer drugs in the USA and Europe: a comparative analysis.

Background: Cancer drugs are a major component of pharmaceutical spending in the USA and Europe. The number of approved cancer drugs continues to increase. More new drugs with overlapping mechanisms of action and similar approved indications might be expected to decrease prices within drug classes.

Patients' access to drugs with rebates in Switzerland - Empirical analysis and policy implications for drug pricing in Europe.

Background: Many European countries introduced (confidential) rebates in the past years. Authorities and manufacturers argue that this strategy allows reduction of spending on high-cost drugs, and quick access of innovative drugs. We evaluated these arguments using Switzerland as an example, one of the last countries with transparent rebates.

Steroid responsive encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroiditis following ipilimumab therapy: a case report.

Background: Ipilimumab is a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 receptor antibody used for immunotherapy in cancer. Several immune-related adverse events are known. Steroid responsive encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroiditis is an autoimmune encephalopathy associated with Hashimoto's Disease and elevated serum levels of the related antibodies (anti-thyroid-peroxidase antibody or anti-thyroglobulin antibody).

Role of pattern, regularity, and silent intervals in auditory stream segregation based on inter-aural time differences.

Tone triplets separated by a pause (ABA_) are a popular tone-repetition pattern to study auditory stream segregation. Such triplets produce a galloping rhythm when integrated, but isochronous rhythms when segregated. Other patterns lacking a pause may produce less-prominent rhythmic differences but stronger streaming.

Choriodecidual group B streptococcal inoculation induces fetal lung injury without intra-amniotic infection and preterm labor in Macaca nemestrina.

Background: Early events leading to intrauterine infection and fetal lung injury remain poorly defined, but may hold the key to preventing neonatal and adult chronic lung disease. Our objective was to establish a nonhuman primate model of an early stage of chorioamnionitis in order to determine the time course and mechanisms of fetal lung injury in utero.

Methodology/principal Findings: Ten chronically catheterized pregnant monkeys (Macaca nemestrina) at 118-125 days gestation (term=172 days) received one of two treatments: 1) choriodecidual and intra-amniotic saline (n=5), or 2) choriodecidual inoculation of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) 1×10(6) colony forming units (n=5).

Role of Toll-like receptor 2 in innate resistance to Group B Streptococcus.

The Gram-positive bacterium Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an important cause of serious neonatal and adult infections. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) recognizes components of the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria and is critical for defense against certain invasive pathogens. In GBS, penicillin-binding protein 1a (PBP1a), encoded by ponA, is required for virulence.

A streptococcal penicillin-binding protein is critical for resisting innate airway defenses in the neonatal lung.

Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of neonatal pneumonia. The early interactions between innate airway defenses and this pathogen are likely to be a critical factor in determining the outcome for the host. The surface-localized penicillin-binding protein (PBP)1a, encoded by ponA, is known to be an important virulence trait in a sepsis model of GBS infection that promotes resistance to neutrophil killing and more specifically to neutrophil antimicrobial peptides (AMPs).

Penicillin-binding protein 1a promotes resistance of group B streptococcus to antimicrobial peptides.

Evasion of host immune defenses is critical for the progression of invasive infections caused by the leading neonatal pathogen, group B streptococcus (GBS). Upon characterizing the factors required for virulence in a neonatal rat sepsis model, we found that a surface-associated penicillin-binding protein (PBP1a), encoded by ponA, played an essential role in resistance of GBS to phagocytic clearance. In order to elucidate how PBP1a promotes resistance to innate immunity, we compared the susceptibility of wild-type GBS and an isogenic ponA mutant to the bactericidal components of human neutrophils.