Pharmaceutical
SA's national cancer drug shortage may last until October
A deadly national cancer drug shortage in SA is approaching its third month and patients may have to go without until October – if they can make it – reports Bhekisisa. In February, Nic Basson was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a...
The unaffordable cost of medicines in SA controversy
June 28th, 2017 The cost of medicines in SA – particularly of cutting-edge, potentially life-saving medicines – has been in the news. In one of several articles featured in this FOCUS, Katharine Child of Financial Mail reports that SA needs a scientific...
Drug companies in the Competition Commission's sights
June 21st, 2017 JSE-listed pharmaceutical company Aspen will have to pay a $5.2m fine plus interest imposed by the Italian Competition Authority related to the company’s portfolio of oncology products distributed in Italy, writes Business Report. Aspen...SA Competition Commission investigates Aspen, Roche and Pfizer over cancer drug pricing
Africa’s biggest generic drug maker Aspen Pharmacare, already under investigation by European authorities over the price of its cancer drugs, is now under similar scrutiny from South Africa’s Competition Commission, reports Business Day. The...SA experiencing an influx of fake medication
Erectile dysfunction drugs‚ painkillers and weight loss pills are among the most counterfeited pharmaceuticals available in South Africa. The Times reports that, according to Mohamed Khader‚ of specialist intellectual property firm Spoor...Amgen's cholesterol drug cuts cardiovascular risk - trial
Amgen said its cholesterol fighter Repatha significantly reduced the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death in patients with heart disease, according to initial results of a large, trial, reports Reuters Health. The data should pave the way...Increases in drug prices puts pressure on European healthcare
Increases in cancer medicine prices in the UK, despite many medicines going off-patent, suggest that in many cases NHS price negotiations are failing to lower or even stabilise drug prices, found a UK study. European prices for some off-patent...
OECD: Many new drugs are bad value for money
January 25th, 2017 An Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development report has criticised the pricing strategy of the pharmaceutical industry, claiming that many new drugs are simply bad value for money. The report says that there needs to be a rebalancing...SA medicine price increase off to an early start
Aspen Pharmacare has welcomed both the 7.5% increase in the single exit price for medicines and scheduled substances announced by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi as well as the early timing of its implementation, reports Business Day. In the...
Critical flaws in the management of medical supplies
November 30th, 2016 The Auditor-General has identified critical flaws at the SA Department of Health's depots and health institutions in the storage and management of medical supplies‚ the recording of patients’ details, as well as the keeping of records of...Otsuka urged to move rapidly on DR-TB treatment
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has urged the Japanese pharmaceutical giant Otsuka to provide an access plan for South Africa that ensures people in the country with drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) can receive delamanid, one of the most promising new...FDA gives fast-track review status to breast cancer drug
The US Food and Drug Administration gave fast-track review status to Novartis's medication ribociclib in first-line treatment of postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer, as the Swiss company seeks to challenge Pfizer's Ibrance...Gauteng Health awards contracts to curb meds' shortages
Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu has awarded two pharmaceutical companies contracts worth more than R32m‚ in a drive to curb the shortage of medication in public health facilities. The Times reports that announcing the awards, spokesperson...US generic medicine prices skyrocket, controls threatened
Despite at least eight pharmaceutical companies competing to sell a decades-old drug that treats gallstones, prices have skyrocketed, reports the Los Angeles Times. Now Democratic presidential nominee Hilary Clinton is looking at legislation to...
Mylan CEO is newest villain in US pharmaceutical sector
August 31st, 2016 Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan, is at the centre of the latest public outrage over high drug prices for a fourfold price increase on the severe allergy treatment EpiPen, while taking a huge pay raise, reports The New York Times. The report says from...