In a set of joint principles, BIO and PhRMA emphasized that companies should be able to communicate "truthful, non-misleading" information outside of an FDA-approved label to insurance providers, PBMs and government healthcare programs as they consider reimbursement decisions.
“To exercise sound medical judgment in treating patients, health care professionals must understand the full range of treatment options, including both established and emerging information about available medications. Biopharmaceutical companies are uniquely positioned to help health care professionals achieve the best outcomes for patients, because companies can provide timely, accurate, and comprehensive information about both approved and unapproved uses of the medications they research, develop, and bring to patients. PhRMA, BIO and their members believe that the availability of a wider range of truthful and non-misleading information can help health care professionals and payers make better informed medical decisions for their patients, which in turn will benefit patients.”
According to the principles, a company should be able to describe to payers its pipeline, the status of FDA applications, the anticipated uses of products, relevant clinical trial data, pharmacoeconomic information and applicable treatment guidelines. Further, a company should be able to discuss analyses of real-world data derived from "sound and well-described" research methods.
Communications should be tailored to the sophistication of the intended audience, and should provide "scientific substantiation" for information not included in FDA-approved labeling, the document said. A company should provide details on the design and implementation of studies that generated data, including patient populations and statistical analysis plan.
BIO and PhRMA also said that when applicable, companies should inform healthcare professionals that other research led to different results.
No word from White Oak … yet. What is needed from the FDA is though bold action and … clarity.
This is urgent for many reasons: different federal agencies (FDA, FTC, DOJ) with different views on pathways and jurisdiction, and the extreme danger of allowing federal judges dictate regulatory policy. If existing policy has evolved to protect the public from snake oil, the recent Amarin decision is precarious precedent for communications about fish oil – and beyond.
“To exercise sound medical judgment in treating patients, health care professionals must understand the full range of treatment options, including both established and emerging information about available medications. Biopharmaceutical companies are uniquely positioned to help health care professionals achieve the best outcomes for patients, because companies can provide timely, accurate, and comprehensive information about both approved and unapproved uses of the medications they research, develop, and bring to patients. PhRMA, BIO and their members believe that the availability of a wider range of truthful and non-misleading information can help health care professionals and payers make better informed medical decisions for their patients, which in turn will benefit patients.”
According to the principles, a company should be able to describe to payers its pipeline, the status of FDA applications, the anticipated uses of products, relevant clinical trial data, pharmacoeconomic information and applicable treatment guidelines. Further, a company should be able to discuss analyses of real-world data derived from "sound and well-described" research methods.
Communications should be tailored to the sophistication of the intended audience, and should provide "scientific substantiation" for information not included in FDA-approved labeling, the document said. A company should provide details on the design and implementation of studies that generated data, including patient populations and statistical analysis plan.
BIO and PhRMA also said that when applicable, companies should inform healthcare professionals that other research led to different results.
No word from White Oak … yet. What is needed from the FDA is though bold action and … clarity.
This is urgent for many reasons: different federal agencies (FDA, FTC, DOJ) with different views on pathways and jurisdiction, and the extreme danger of allowing federal judges dictate regulatory policy. If existing policy has evolved to protect the public from snake oil, the recent Amarin decision is precarious precedent for communications about fish oil – and beyond.
