Revising EU pharmaceutical legislation: will it foster drug repurposing?

Repurposing off-patent drugs can be a potential source of low-cost treatments for patients with unmet medical needs. Here, we review the proposed new European Union (EU) pharmaceutical legislation in which two articles address drug repurposing. We find certain barriers hindering the adoption of these new incentives by academic and not-for-profit stakeholders, including lack of knowledge on regulatory aspects, pharmacovigilance, and restrictions in data protection.

Forecasting the value of innovation in total knee arthroplasty care: A headroom approach.

Purpose: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the standard treatment of end-stage osteoarthritis. TKA is often used and, therefore, poses a healthcare and societal burden, which is likely to increase further. Headroom analyses evaluate a technology under development by making assumptions about its effectiveness.

Factors for a broad technology assessment of comprehensive genomic profiling in advanced cancer, a systematic review.

Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) allows for the identification of many targets. Reimbursement decision-making is, however, challenging because besides the health benefits of on-label treatments and costs, other factors related to diagnostic and treatment pathways may also play a role. The aim of this study was to identify which other factors are relevant for the technology assessment of CGP and to summarize the available evidence for these factors.

Effectiveness of the Assessment of Burden of Chronic Conditions (ABCC)-tool in patients with asthma, COPD, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and heart failure: A pragmatic clustered quasi-experimental study in the Netherlands.

Background: The Assessment of Burden of Chronic Conditions (ABCC)-tool was developed to optimise chronic care.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the ABCC-tool in patients with COPD, asthma, type 2 diabetes, and/or heart failure in primary care in the Netherlands.

Methods: The study had a pragmatic, clustered, two-armed, quasi-experimental design.