WASHINGTON — The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) announced that Blasine Penkowski, chief strategic customer officer of Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., has been elected chair of NPC’s board of directors for 2019-2020. Penkowski has served in other NPC board positions, most recently as vice chair. “Companies driving biopharmaceutical innovation face diverse challenges in
During the last few months, we’ve seen an intense focus on the cost of medicines, including a Senate hearing featuring seven biopharmaceutical executives. But the conversations about medicines, like the Senate hearing, have been narrowly focused on list and net prices or on specific medicines, rather than taking a holistic view of health spending or
Everyone recognizes that the high cost of health care in the U.S. is a chronic problem, the fallout from which is hurting patients, constraining providers and preventing the nation from marshalling adequate resources to address other essential needs. As noted in this space earlier this month, the Affordable Care Act, the legislation that governs the
There has been significant focus and attention paid to the issue of drug prices in the last few years. As Adam Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting Inc. and chief executive officer of Drug Channels Institute, has said, “Drugs are 12% of the costs, but 90% of the conversation.” Fortunately, the spirited national conversation about drug
Today we’re seeing significant scientific breakthroughs that are revolutionizing the treatment of challenging conditions like cancers and both rare and chronic diseases. Advances that activate the immune system or retool genes with a single treatment to change the course of disease all signal that personalized medicine is here and continuing to evolve. These amazing and
For the past two years, organizations in the private and public sectors have been working to develop tools to support value-based health care and evidence-based medical decision making. In 2017, these efforts will take on an even greater urgency, driven by the ongoing, accelerating progress of biopharmaceutical research and development. As more — and more
WASHINGTON — Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals has become a member of the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC). The health policy research organization said Thursday that Steven Romano, senior vice president and chief scientific officer at Mallinckrodt, will serve as the company’s representative on the NPC board of directors. “We are pleased that Mallinckrodt has joined us in support
