Industry News: Diabetes, Atrial Fibrillation and Modernising the NHS

Keeping up with news from across the industry can be a bit of a headache. There are new studies coming out every day and new initiatives launching all the time. Don’t stress, we’ve neatly chunked together 3 of the most interesting and useful stories from the last month – so you don’t have to! This month we see RCD creeping into strategy in the fight against diabetes, and we talk about promising results for stroke and bleeding outcomes from a Real-World analysis of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Pradaxa drug. Lastly we finish off with proof that a modernised NHS could revolutionise our understanding of mental health conditions.

More than sugar-coated promises: what pharma is doing for diabetes
By Dr Nicola Davies for The Pharma Letter

Diabetes has shifted from being a chronic condition that affects a few, to being a global epidemic that is responsible for morbidity and mortality worldwide. As such, diabetes also serves as the pharmaceutical industry’s fastest-growing market. Researchers suggest that by 2030, the costs of prevention and treatment will reach $490 billion internationally. Currently, there are 12 medicines available to treat the condition, and the pharma industry is taking diabetes seriously; but there are concerns from payers and patients that medicines are too expensive. How can pharma develop a balanced vision where useful products can reach those most in need, whilst still being able to recoup the finances used to develop them in the first place? Spoiler alert – Real-World Data should play a part.

Real-World data from Boehringer Ingelheim show lower risk of stroke and major bleeding for PRADAXA (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) compared to warfarin
PR Newswire

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced results from a Real-World analysis. They showed that the drug PRADAXA was linked to an improvement in safety and efficacy outcomes compared to warfarin in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Compared to warfarin, Pradaxa was associated with a 26% reduced risk of stroke, and a 20% reduced risk of major bleeding. Sabine Luik, M.D., senior vice president, Medicine & Regulatory Affairs, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. said, “These data offer valuable real-world insights on patient outcomes, and are an important complement to our robust clinical trial program, in which PRADAXA demonstrated superior efficacy and a favourable risk-benefit profile compared to warfarin.”

Modernising NHS records could make significant impact on medical care
Birmingham City University

Digitising health records to include key patient and treatment information could help identify patterns of illness, effectiveness of treatments and how gender and ethnicity contribute. A study based on electronic healthcare records was carried out by Dr Yevgeniya Kovalchuk, Lecturer in Computer Science at Birmingham City University, alongside co-authors from King’s College London. It showed that by analysing unstructured patient records, researchers can turn RCD into useful insights that can improve our understanding of mental health problems and the provision of healthcare services.