Supply Chain Challenges in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Companies: Using Qualitative System Dynamics Methodology.

In today's competitive market environment, pharmaceutical companies have learned that improving supply chain performance is critical to maintain competitive advantages. Forecasting, planning, procurement, financing, stock levels, and marketing strategies are some of the areas in which managers have to decide about them and balance their enter-related effects simultaneously, to achieve organizational goals. This study is based on the results of literature review, experts' opinion acquisition, and qualitative system dynamics modeling.

A new approach to pharmaceutical pricing based on patients' willingness to pay.

Objectives: Pharmaceutical pricing is an important and contentious issue in middle- and low-income countries. The present study evaluated a value-based pricing system for estimating the price of interferon-beta (IFN-β).

Methods: Prices were estimated through the Willingness to Pay (WTP) system using the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) from the viewpoint of MS patients, levels of attributes and patients' willingness to pay for these attributes.

The Availability and Affordability of Cardiovascular Medicines for Secondary Prevention in Tehran Province (Iran).

Availability and affordability of medicines are crucial to achieving success in prevention programs, particularly in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the availability and affordability of cardiovascular medicines for secondary prevention in Tehran province of Iran. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Tehran province in 2015, using the 2nd edition of the World Health Organization/Health Action International methodology.

Selective Cytotoxicity of Luteolin and Kaempferol on Cancerous Hepatocytes Obtained from Rat Model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Involvement of ROS-Mediated Mitochondrial Targeting.

To evaluate the cytotoxicity effects of luteolin (LUT) and kaempferol (KAE) via reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated mitochondrial targeting on hepatocytes obtained from the liver of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) rats. In this study, HCC induced by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF). In the following, rat liver hepatocytes and mitochondria were isolated and tested for every eventual apoptotic and anti-HCC effects of LUT and KAE.

Patient preferences for Interferon-beta in Iran: A discrete choice experiment.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, progressive, and common disease affecting the central nervous system in young adults. Interferon-beta is one of the most widely used medicines to reduce the disease progression. Given the variety of drugs in this category, we aimed to identify the preferences of patients for IFN-β that play an important role in policymaking in this area.

New Product Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Evidence from a generic market.

In today's competitive world, there are several strategies to deal with the fast changing environment, among which New product development (NPD) is a common strategy. However, almost half of the resources that companies devote to NPD are spent on products that may fail. This issue is particularly highlighted in the pharmaceutical industry mainly because of a long development-time, low success rate, high capital requirement, and market uncertainty.

Monetary Value of Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALY) among Patients with Cardiovascular Disease: a Willingness to Pay Study (WTP).

The aim of this study was to estimate the monetary value of a QALY among patients with heart disease and to identify its determinants. A cross-sectional survey was conducted through face-to-face interview on 196 patients with cardiovascular disease from two heart hospitals in Tehran, Iran, to estimate the value of QALY using disaggregated and aggregated approaches. The EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Time Trade-Off (TTO) and contingent valuation WTP techniques were employed, first to elicit patients' preferences and then, to estimate WTP for QALY.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Biogeneric Recombinant Activated Factor VII (AryoSeven™) and Activated Prothrombin Complex Concentrates (FEIBA™) to Treat Hemophilia A Patients with Inhibitors in Iran.

Nowadays, bypassing agents such as recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) and activated prothrombin complex concentrates (aPCC) are used to treat bleeding episodes in the Hemophilia patients with inhibitors. AryoSeven® is an Iranian biogeneric rFVIIa with homogeneity of efficacy and the nature to NovoSeven in a comparative trial. The current clinical trial aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of FEIBA and AryoSeven® by Decision Analytic Model according to the Iranian healthcare system.

Administrative Process and Criteria Ranking for Drug Entering Health Insurance List in Iran-TOPSIS-Based Consensus Model.

The purposes of our study were to identify a drug entry process, collect, and prioritize criteria for selecting drugs for the list of basic health insurance commitments to prepare an "evidence based reimbursement eligibility plan" in Iran. The 128 noticeable criteria were found when studying the health insurance systems of developed countries. Four parts (involving criteria) formed the first questionnaire: evaluation of evidences quality, clinical evaluation, economic evaluation, and managerial appraisal.

Myricetin Selectively Induces Apoptosis on Cancerous Hepatocytes by Directly Targeting Their Mitochondria.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related death. In patients for whom HCC could not be detected early, current treatments show poor tolerance and low efficacy. So, alternative therapies with good efficacy are urgently needed.

Selecting the Acceptance Criteria of Medicines in the Reimbursement List of Public Health Insurance of Iran, Using the "Borda" Method: a Pilot Study.

Decision-making for medicines to be accepted in Iran's public health insurance reimbursement list is a complex process and involves factors, which should be considered in applying a coverage for medicine costs. These processes and factors are not wholly assessed, while assessment of these factors is an essential need for getting a transparent and evidence-based approach toward medicine reimbursement in Iran. This paper aims to show an evidence-based approach toward medicine selection criteria to inform the medical reimbursement decision makers in Iranian health insurance organizations.

Applying a Simple Model of Cost Effectiveness Study of HPV Vaccine for Iran.

HPV vaccine has been recently added to the Iran Drug List, so decision makers need information beyond that available from RCTs to recommend funding for this vaccination. Modeling and economic studies have addressed some of those information needs. We reviewed cost effectiveness studies to find a suitable model for Iranian population to determine the potential cost effectiveness of HPV vaccine program based on domestic available epidemiologic data.

Comparison of bypassing agents in bleeding reduction in treatment of bleeding episodes in patients with haemophilia and inhibitors.

Context: Mild-to-moderate bleeding disorders in haemophilia are primarily treated via recombinant activated factor VII a (rFVIIa) or activated prothrombin complex concentrate (aPCC). However, the efficacy of each bypassing agents may vary and none of them is universally effective.

Evidence Acquisition: After reviewing the databases of PubMed, Scopus, MD Consult, Ovid, Trip database, Google Scholar, ProQuest and the Cochrane Library, finally, 17 papers published from 2000 to 2013 were extracted.

An Analysis of Job Satisfaction among Iranian Pharmacists through Various Job Characteristics.

Introduction: Pharmacists and pharmaceutical services are among the most important resources and programs in providing health for a society. Pharmacists as the key players in presenting health services, greatly impact on the health of a society and if they suffer low job satisfaction, their dissatisfaction may relatively threaten health in a society. This study was conducted to determine Iranian pharmacists' job satisfaction and additionally, some causes of dissatisfaction among pharmacists have been diagnosed.

Client priorities and satisfaction with community pharmacies: the situation in Tehran.

Background: Client satisfaction is an important criterion to evaluate pharmacy services. In addition, knowledge about client satisfaction can be helpful to identify strengths and weaknesses which can be used to improve health services.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess clients' priorities and satisfaction with community pharmacy services in Tehran.

Costs of Treatment after Renal Transplantation: Is it Worth to Pay More?

The primary aim of the study was to estimate costs of treatment for the first year after renal transplantation from the perspective of health insurance organizations in Iran. An Excel-based and a Monte Carlo model were developed to determine the treatment costs of current clinical practice in renal transplantation therapy (RTT). Inputs were derived from Ministry of Health and insurance organizations database, hospital and pharmacy records, clinical trials and local and international literature.

Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation of Quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine for HPV-Related Disease in Iran.

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine has been added recently to the Iran Drug List. So, decision makers need information beyond that available from RCTs to recommend funding for this vaccination program to add it to the National Immunization program in Iran. Modeling and economic studies have addressed some of those information needs in foreign countries.

Drug Literacy in Iran: the Experience of Using "The Single Item Health Literacy Screening (SILS) Tool".

Drug and health literacy is a key determinant of health outcomes. There are several tools to assess drug and health literacy. The objective of this article is to determine drug literacy level and its relationships with other factors using a single item screening tool.

Identifying and prioritizing industry-level competitiveness factors: evidence from pharmaceutical market.

Background: Pharmaceutical industry is knowledge-intensive and highly globalized, in both developed and developing countries. On the other hand, if companies want to survive, they should be able to compete well in both domestic and international markets. The main purpose of this paper is therefore to develop and prioritize key factors affecting companies' competitiveness in pharmaceutical industry.

Developing a model for agile supply: an empirical study from Iranian pharmaceutical supply chain.

Agility is the fundamental characteristic of a supply chain needed for survival in turbulent markets, where environmental forces create additional uncertainty resulting in higher risk in the supply chain management. In addition, agility helps providing the right product, at the right time to the consumer. The main goal of this research is therefore to promote supplier selection in pharmaceutical industry according to the formative basic factors.

Situation analysis of R & d activities: an empirical study in Iranian pharmaceutical companies.

As global competition intensifies, research and development (R & D) organizations need to enhance their strategic management in order to become goal-directed communities for innovation and allocate their resources consistent with their overall R & D strategy. The world pharmaceutical market has undergone fast, unprecedented, tremendous and complex changes in the last several years. The pharmaceutical industry is today still one of the most inventive, innovative and lucrative of the so-called "high-tech" industries.

Safety assessment of ocimum basilicum hydroalcoholic extract in wistar rats: acute and subchronic toxicity studies.

Objectives: Ocimum basilicum L. is widely used in folk medicine of many countries including . Both O.

Cost-utility analysis of immune tolerance induction therapy versus on-demand treatment with recombinant factor VII for hemophilia A with high titer inhibitors in Iran.

Background: In developing countries, the treatment of hemophilia patients with inhibitors is presently the most challenging and serious issue in hemophilia management, direct costs of clotting factor concentrates accounting for >98% of the highest economic burden absorbed for the health care of patients in this setting. In the setting of chronic diseases, cost-utility analysis, which takes into account the beneficial effects of a given treatment/health care intervention in terms of health-related quality of life, is likely to be the most appropriate approach.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of immune tolerance induction (ITI) therapy with plasma-derived factor VIII concentrates versus on-demand treatment with recombinant-activated FVIIa (rFVIIa) in hemophilia A with high titer inhibitors from an Iranian Ministry of Health perspective.

Involvement of subcellular organelles in inflammatory pain-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in the rat hepatocytes.

Background: Subcutaneous injection of formalin in the plantar surface of rat's hind paw is frequently used as an animal model to study pain associated with inflammation. The pain produced by formalin test differs significantly from that of acute nociceptive tests. In this study, we first investigated the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for chronic inflammatory pain-induced damage in the rat hepatocytes and finally we tried to figure out whether both selective (celecoxib) and nonselective (acetylsalicylic acid) cyclo-oxygenase inhibitors could protect hepatocytes against pain-induced damage.