Recenti progressi in medicina
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For the past decade decision makers worldwide have endorsed the use of neuraminidase inhibitors. They spent billions of pounds stockpiling the two anti-influenza drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir from the mid-2000s as part of a global effort to be prepared for an influenza pandemic. When the H1N1 pandemic emerged in 2009 the drugs were rolled out around the globe for treatment and prevention of influenza and its complications. ⋯ What should have been a routine review got complicated as the validity of a key study that underpinned the evidence on efficacy was unclear. Our three and half year battle for data has resulted in the drug manufacturers providing us with full clinical study reports and unveiled a story in which no party has taken full responsibility for ensuring the validity of the evidence underlying its decisions. We hope that the publication of our systematic review of the trials, alongside all the source clinical study reports, will change the way such decisions are made.
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The approval of new antiviral agents and the wide-ranging costs of ophthalmic therapies with comparable efficacy have renewed the debate over the cost-effectiveness of novel drugs. In oncology, more expensive treatments do not always substantially change the outcome of the disease, but they merely prolong life expectancy by a few weeks even at the cost of significant side effects. ⋯ In addition, fund allocation for purchasing high cost medications results in limited investment in clinical research and human resources - doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff - that play a central role in patient care. Regulatory agencies should be more demanding, reimbursing pharmaceutical companies on the basis of treatment outcome.