Facility of the year: 2013 winners announced

Three US and three European manufacturing plants have been selected as category winners for the annual Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) out of 27 entries.

The category winners are Biogen Idec, Roche, Medimmune, Merck & Co, Morphotek and Novartis, with the overall victor due to be announced at the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) annual meeting later this year.

Biogen Idec has won the Facility Integration category for its flexible volume manufacturing (FVM) project at its plant in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, US. The project centred on the creation of an adaptable platform for making small and large-volume batches of material intended for clinical trials, and features a hybrid network of fixed and single-use equipment.

Roche took first place in the Project Execution category for its Technical Research and Development (TR&D) Building 97 in Basel, Switzerland, which was set up to consolidate the Roche research and development groups for oral solid dosage and liquid parenteral dosage forms for clinical studies into one facility.

Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2013

Cleveland Clinic announced its list of Top 10 Medical Innovations that will have a major impact on improving patient care within the next year. The list is made up of devices, including a handheld optical scan for melanoma; drugs; diagnostic tests, such as 3D mammography; and a government program that financially rewards patients for improving their health.

The list of breakthrough devices and therapies was selected by a panel of Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists and announced  during Cleveland Clinic’s 2012 Medical Innovation Summit.

The Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2013 are:

1. Bariatric Surgery for Control of Diabetes 

Exercise and diet alone are not effective for treating severe obesity or Type 2 diabetes. Once a person reaches 100 pounds or more above his or her ideal weight, losing the weight and keeping it off for many years almost never happens.

While the medications we have for diabetes are good, about half of the people who take them are not able to control their disease. This can often lead to heart attack, blindness, stroke, and kidney failure.

Surgery for obesity, often called bariatric surgery, shrinks the stomach into a small pouch and rearranges the digestive tract so that food enters the small intestine at a later point than usual.

Over the years, many doctors performing weight-loss operations found that the surgical procedure would rid patients of Type 2 diabetes, oftentimes before the patient left the hospital.

Many diabetes experts now believe that weight-loss surgery should be offered much earlier as a reasonable treatment option for patients with poorly controlled diabetes —and not as a last resort.

Ο χάρτης αποδοτικότητας των νοσοκομείων

Κέρδος  | Νατάσσα Ν. Σπαγαδώρου 

Παρά τη σοβαρή μείωση και τον εξορθολογισμό των δαπανών σε φάρμακα, αναλώσιμα και αντιδραστήρια το κόστος λειτουργίας των κρατικών νοσοκομείων συνεχίζει να παραμένει σε πολύ υψηλά επίπεδα, λόγω του μισθολογικού κόστους, ενώ μεταξύ διάφορων νοσοκομείων παρουσιάζονται τεράστιες διαφορές στους οικονομικούς δείκτες, στους δείκτες νοσηλείας και στους δείκτες αποδοτικότητας. 

Το συμπέρασμα αυτό συνάγεται από μελέτη που εκπόνησε η Εθνική Σχολή Δημόσιας Υγείας (ΕΣΔΥ), με επικεφαλής τον καθηγητή Οικονομικών της Υγείας κ. Γιάννη Κυριόπουλο και τον οικονομολόγο της Υγείας συνεργάτη της ΕΣΔΥ κ. Κώστα Αθανασάκη. 

Όπως αναφέρει στο «Κέρδος», ο κ. Κυριόπουλος, «το κόστος ανά νοσηλευθέντα στα πρωτοβάθμια νοσοκομεία εκτοξεύεται στα 2.948 ευρώ (αυξημένος κατά 260%), ενώ στα τριτοβάθμια νοσοκομεία αυξάνεται στα 2.276 ευρώ (+84%) και στα δευτεροβάθμια στα 2.290 ευρώ (+161%). Είναι σαφές, εξηγεί, πως η υπερβάλλουσα προσφορά ανθρώπινου δυναμικού σε σχέση με τη ζήτηση νοσηλευτικών υπηρεσιών στα πρωτοβάθμια νοσοκομεία, έχει ως αποτέλεσμα την αύξηση του κόστους ανά ασθενή σε μη αποδεκτά επίπεδα για το ΕΣΥ». 

One step closer to a big Pfizer breakup?

A top Pfizer ($PFE) official tells Bloomberg that the company will probably reorganize into two business units--one focused on innovative drugs, the other on off-patent meds (and perhaps consumer health)--from four. And that would pave the way for a two-way split.

If you've been following CEO Ian Read's streamlining efforts over the past two years, you know that he's been shedding business units to zero in on Pfizer's core prescription drugs business, and to return cash to shareholders, a not-incidental goal. You also know that some analysts have championed even more streamlining, arguing that Pfizer would be worth more to investors if broken into smaller pieces.

Study: Drug industry's reputation falls in 2012

The study was conducted and funded from mid-November to mid-December 2012 by PatientView, an independent global research organization with close ties to patient and health groups from 56 different countries. The study results express the views of 40 patient groups (600 respondents) regarding 29 individual pharmaceutical companies and the pharmaceutical industry as a whole.

Participating patient groups were required to know enough about the pharmaceutical companies and industry to assess them meaningfully. The 40 patient groups represent the full spectrum of brain diseases, including neurological diseases, mental disorders and chronic diseases.

Medical Sales Job Prospects in 2013

How will the changes and challenges facing the healthcare system affect pharmaceutical and medical device sales representatives? MedReps recently sat down with medical sales consultant Scott Moldenhauer, president of Persuasion Consultants, to discuss job prospects in 2013 and find out what sales professionals can do to become more successful this year. 

MedReps: Scott, one of the biggest challenges today must be for sales professionals looking to break into the medical field. What's your advice for someone with a decent sales resume looking to make the transition into healthcare?

Scott Moldenhauer: The number one thing for any salesperson is to have a good track record. Keep in mind that hiring managers see a lot of candidates so they want to know that this person can get results, can they make my daily existence better and will they be coachable. Candidate then needs to make sure they stand out by bringing something to the table that no other applicant has - literally bring a portfolio into an interview that contains articles they may have written, awards, letters of recommendation - anything that will show that they can knock it out of the park.

Hospital of the (Near) Future

Who hasn't had a poor experience because of a bad hospital room? Who hasn't gotten lost in a maze of elevators, corridors, and waiting areas? Why is the cafeteria so hard to get to in many hospitals? Most antiquated hospital designs don't work for the patient or their visitors.

The typical hospital room, with its beige walls and stingy windows, carries a dim, funereal cast and works against patient well-being. The standard twin-bedded configuration doesn't help, fostering the spread of infection, making sleep difficult, and giving people at their sickest the dignity of life in a freshman dorm.

 The latest issue of Fast Company magazine covers an emerging movement for modern, well-designed hospitals that cater to the patient, not just the doctors and nurses who pop in for a few minutes at a time. Administrators used to think cramming more patients in the same space was good for the bottom line. Maybe it was back then. Nobody likes to share a room with other patients when they are sick and uncomfortable, and patients have more choices for healthcare than they did in the past.

The new look hospitals will be a godsend to patients. All patients will have their own room, with large windows and comfortable beds. The rooms will be tech-savvy with a media wall, hi-speed WiFi and other modern technologies. Video chats can replace phone calls between patients and family or friends. Bathrooms will be spacious and accommodating - in contrast, many old hospital bathrooms aren't even large enough for a walker. In the new designs, nurses will have better line-of-sight angles to monitor their patients.

What's changed to allow the design of a hospital to be more patient-friendly? The fee-for-service model is moving toward a flat fee for an entire episode of care, such as a hip replacement or a heart procedure. This will help eliminate over-billing for many things, such as the $150 Tylenol pill.

These changes are already in the works in some places, but the overall hospital system won't change overnight. While some new hospitals are utilizing these new designs, it will take decades to revamp or rebuild a majority of the 5,800 hospitals in the U.S. The best of the new hospitals will be built from the ground up, rather than retooling existing buildings.

Better hospitals will improve the level of care we can provide. This is exactly the kind of innovation we need.

Παραιτήθηκε η πρόεδρος της Επιτροπής Τιμών Φαρμάκων

Σύμφωνα με πολύ καλά πληροφορημένες πηγές την παραίτησή της από τη θέση της προέδρου της Επιτροπής Τιμών Φαρμάκων υπέβαλε σήμερα το πρωί (Δευτέρας 7 Ιανουαρίου) η κ. Δέδε, μετά την απόρριψη της πρότασης της Επιτροπής για το διορθωτικό δελτίο τιμών φαρμάκων εκ μέρους του αναπληρωτή υπουργού Υγείας Μάριου Σαλμά.

Ο Μάριος Σαλμάς έχει προχωρήσει επίσης από την Παρασκευή 4 Ιανουαρίου σε αλλεπάλληλες "επικαιροποιήσεις" του διορθωτικού δελτίου για να καταλήξει τελικά στην ανάρτηση του... αρχικού διορθωτικού δελτίου τιμών φαρμάκων της 2ας Ιανουαρίου, για το οποίο ο Σύνδεσμος Φαρμακευτικών Επιχειρήσεων Ελλάδας (ΣΦΕΕ) έχει αποστείλει επιστολή διαμαρτυρίας στον αναπληρωτή υπουργό Υγείας.

What are the 7 mega-trends that will redefine the healthcare industry in 2013?

Deloitte Center for Health Solutions has created an interesting six-minute video in which Paul Keckley, the Center’s executive director, describes the seven mega-trends that will influence the healthcare industry in 2013.

All seven reinforce an undeniable reality — that business as usual won’t do — and present a “new normal.” It goes without saying that simply recognizing the mega-trends won’t do. Accepting them and changing is key. In other words, the dictum — using another well-worn cliche – is “change or die.”

Here are the mega-trends as defined by Keckley:

1. Demanding demographics: The U.S. population is changing — it’s more diverse and older than it used to be. There are also large income disparities within that population. The ability to access insurance and the desire to have more healthful lifestyles are creating the a unique set of demographics that is engaging with their healthcare and demanding more from the healthcare industry than previously.
2. Strategic globalization: U.S. companies involved in healthcare are looking to expand overseas. Not only is there inherent demand from the local population but medical tourism is on the rise: 25 percent of consumers report that they are willing to travel for a medical procedure. It’s important to look beyond U.S. borders for growth given projections like the U.S. share of global drug sales will drop 31 percent by 2015. And it’s not just pharma or device companies that need to look for growth in foreign soil, but insurance companies, providers, information technology companies as well.

Abbott, J&J, Sanofi Said to Show Bausch & Lomb Interest

Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Sanofi have shown interest in Bausch & Lomb Inc., the eye-care company Warburg Pincus LLC is seeking to sell, said people with knowledge of the matter.

Warburg, working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is giving interested parties access to its financial data and seeking first-round bids by month’s end, said the people, who asked not to be named because the process is private. Warburg is seeking at least $10 billion for the business, these people said. Goldman Sachs contacted some prospective bidders right before Christmas with information about Bausch & Lomb, said one of the people.