AZ Health Connections

AZ announces 2nd quarter & half year results

You can get all the facts and figures here. 

Savings for seniors in Medicare Part D

A study published in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association found that American seniors’ increased access to medicines via the Medicare prescription drug program led to reduced spending on post-acute care such as hospitals and nursing homes.

Medicare Part D enrollees who had inadequate prescription drug coverage or no prescription drug coverage prior to enrolling in the Part D benefit each saved an average of $1,200 per year, which resulted in savings of $12 billion in federal spending for non-drug costs in the Medicare program, according to the Associated Press.

“’Expanding the Medicare program to incorporate a drug benefit increased the use of prescription drugs, lowered out-of- pocket costs and improved adherence to prescriptions,” study lead author Dr. J. Michael McWilliams told Bloomberg.

In the study, the authors concluded, “In concert with previous studies, these findings suggest that increased medication use and adherence achieved through expanded drug coverage for seniors have been associated with decreased spending for non-drug medical care.”

The study offers further proof that the current Medicare Part D program is working and working well.

Today, more than 29 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a Part D plan, and 90 percent of all beneficiaries have comprehensive drug coverage. Polls have consistently shown that Medicare Part D enrollees are overwhelmingly satisfied with their coverage.

And, as we wrote about here, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid have shown that seniors are saving money as they reach the coverage gap in the Medicare Part D design.

Prescription medicines play an essential role in disease management and prevention. AstraZeneca believes the Medicare Part D program is a model for how the private sector and public sector can work together to provide critical access to medicines that improve our nation’s health.

To read PhRMA's view, click here.

-By Laura Woodin

US FDA approves BRILINTA (ticagrelor) tablets

 
A worker inspects BRILINTA bottles at AstraZeneca’s US supply and manufacturing division located in Newark, Delaware. The Newark facility serves as a major distribution and shipping center for AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca announced yesterday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved BRILINTA™ (ticagrelor) tablets. The approval of BRILINTA is a demonstration of the company’s mission to deliver medicines to help meet patient needs.

The US approval comes just six months after approval of ticagrelor in the European Union in December 2010. It is now approved across five continents, specifically 39 countries, including US, Brazil, Australia, and Canada under the trade name BRILINTA and in the European Union under the trade name BRLIQUE™. BRILINTA is currently under regulatory review in an additional 45 countries, including Russia, India, and China.

Ticagrelor was discovered and developed by AstraZeneca’s own scientists in our laboratories in the United Kingdom. It will be manufactured in Sweden and bottled and packaged in Newark, Delaware for distribution to US patients.

For additional information about BRILINTA, click here. Please read full Prescribing Information, including BOXED WARNINGS and Medication Guide at http://www1.astrazeneca-us.com/pi/brilinta.pdf.

-By Rachelle Benson, Senior Manager for Brand Corporate Affairs at AstraZeneca

A car enthusiast’s dream job

For AstraZeneca employee Steve Macom, a new set of wheels is all part of the job.

Steve - along with his manager Kim Jamme and colleague Janice Landino – oversees more than 5,500 company-owned vehicles that are deployed across the country.

“It’s like managing a small city on wheels,” says Macom, who is currently test-driving the Volkswagen Passat.

A test-drive isn’t the only criteria that Steve and his team consider when they select vehicles for inclusion in the company fleet.

They have been tasked with improving the company’s impact on the environment by reducing emissions and fuel consumption. The team plans to reduce emissions within the fleet by 8 percent by 2015.

Kim Jamme, manager of AstraZeneca Fleet Services, was awarded Automotive Fleet Magazine’s Environmental Leadership Award in both 2009 and 2010 for leading the team’s efforts in making significant improvements in the fleet’s environmental strategy.

How are they doing this? The team has introduced a number of hybrid models, reduced the number of SUVs and is running a clean diesel pilot program. This summer, Macom plans to test drive an all-electric vehicle.

Says Macom, ”Employees have responded enthusiastically to the company’s efforts to reduce its environmental footprint.  In fact, employees who participate in the clean diesel pilot program exchange tips through their own Yammer group.”

Safety is also paramount. The team will only select vehicles that achieve 4 or 5-star crash safety ratings and meet vigorous safety standards.

Steve and his group also work with Mary Beth Rose, a safety analyst who administers driver safety training and has helped the team achieve a 28 percent decrease in motor vehicle-related injuries.

-By Laura Woodin

Speaking the language of your health plan

Many health insurance plans change constantly, and it can be difficult to identify how these changes affect your treatment options without understanding some of the common terms in your plan.

What medicines are on a formulary and how does their tier status impact a patient’s treatment? We discuss these topics and others with AstraZeneca Pharmacist LeAnn Poole. Click on the video below.

To learn more about terms such as prior authorization and step therapy, click here or to help ensure you get the treatment your doctor prescribed, listen to LeAnn as she shares her insights around some common health insurance terms by clicking on the audio clip.

-Blair Hains, Director, Brand Corporate Affairs at AstraZeneca

Medicare, jobs and our industry

 

A new report underscores a tie between the health of the biopharmaceutical industry and the American economy that must be considered as our nation’s leaders negotiate an important agreement on the debt ceiling in the coming days.

The Battelle Technology Partnership Practice report estimates that a $20 billion per year reduction in biopharmaceutical sector revenue would result in 260,000 job losses.

According to the research:

Nationwide, the sector supported a total of 4 million jobs in 2009, including 674,192 direct jobs.

1. Each job in a biopharmaceutical research company supported almost 6 additional jobs in other sectors in 2009.

2. Every $1 in output generated by the biopharmaceutical sector generates another $1.4 in output in other areas of the economy due to the high value‐added nature of the sector, its extensive supply chain relationships, and high wage paying jobs.

3. The biopharmaceutical sector generated nearly $33 billion in state and local tax revenue and more than $52 billion in federal tax revenues in 2009.

This data on the industry’s contribution to the U.S. economy comes on the heels of the latest unemployment numbers and conversations on the hill that could have significant impact on biopharmaceutical research.

For example, the President and some in Congress have proposed including government-mandated rebates in Medicare Part D as part of a debt ceiling agreement. Imposing price controls in the Medicare Part D program is bad for patients and bad for business.

Policies that implement price controls in the Medicare prescription drug benefit will risk raising health care costs and reducing seniors’ access to critical prescription drugs. These policies would require our industry to pay even greater rebates to the government for our medicines that are available through Medicare Part D, and could lead to unintended consequences on the economy.

John J. Castellani, President and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said, “At a time when the U.S. is facing a jobs crisis, evidenced by the terrible employment numbers from last Friday, it is critical that our policymakers embrace dynamic and innovative business sectors such as the biopharmaceutical research sector and refrain from stifling job growth through shortsighted proposals such as government-mandated price controls in Medicare Part D.”

-By Laura Woodin

Improving Biopharma R&D

A recent blog post by Matthew Herper asks whether pharmaceutical R&D could be improving, and seems to echo findings of this study by suggesting the pharmaceutical industry may be focusing its efforts on areas of unmet medical need.

“Companies may be less likely to develop me-too medicines — which could be masking a resurgence in R&D on tougher projects. It’s at least possible — and would be a truly welcome sign,” writes Herper.

A study published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery last month suggests that a decline in biopharma R&D productivity “is associated with an increasing concentration of R&D investments in areas in which the risk of failure is high, which correspond to unmet therapeutic needs and unexploited biological mechanisms.”

AstraZeneca is committed to a business model that is driven by investment in innovative, prescription-based biopharmaceutical R&D. So, as you can imagine, R&D productivity is an issue we are tackling head on.

Our R&D President Martin Mackay recently told The Pink Sheet, “Today's environment is unique and requires unique solutions, based on novel insights and stakeholder interaction." Mackay described some of these solutions in these remarks at the company’s full-year 2010 earnings announcement.

As The Pink Sheet’s Melanie Senior summarized, “AstraZeneca’s structural overhaul of R&D isn’t designed as a quick fix; rather, it's a long-term realignment of strategy and priorities. The impact of the new-look R&D spreads well beyond discovery and development into business development and commercial – including, especially, into market access and payer-focused roles.”

-By Laura Woodin

Medicare Part D: A Success Story

This week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posted data that shows beneficiaries in the Medicare prescription drug program are accessing the medicines they need and saving money as they reach the coverage gap in the Part D benefit design.

We wrote about the pharmaceutical industry’s agreement to help fill the coverage gap last year.

Now, a blog post by CMS Administrator Donald Berwick says ”almost half a million individuals enrolled in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit have received a 50 percent discount on their out-of-pocket costs in the first five months of 2011.”

Part D enrollees have saved a total of $260 million, with an average savings of $545 per person since the coverage gap discount program began in January 2011, according to CMS.

This recent news highlights the overall success of the Part D program. Polls have consistently shown that Medicare Part D enrollees are overwhelmingly satisfied with their Part D coverage. Average premiums for Part D coverage in 2011 are $30, which are more than 40 percent lower than originally projected when the program was established.

-By Laura Woodin

With Type 2 Diabetes, knowledge isn’t enough

Although patients with type 2 diabetes are knowledgeable about their disease and have good access to health care, knowledge has not generally led to healthy behavior, according to a study presented at this year’s American Diabetes Association’s annual meeting.

 

Nearly one in five individuals with type 2 diabetes reported they’d rather take medicine for their health problems than change their lifestyles, and 5 percent reported they did not bother to try to stay healthy.

The AstraZeneca sponsored study, known as SHIELD (The Study to Help Improve Early evaluation and management of risk factors Leading to Diabetes), is the largest nongovernmental study of its kind.

Diabetes affects 25.6 million adults in the United States, or 11.3 percent of the total adult population. Type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 90 to 95 percent of all cases of diagnosed diabetes in adults.

Click here for more information on the importance of patients transforming knowledge to action.

-By Corey Windett, Senior Manager for Brand Corporate Affairs at AstraZeneca

Asking questions to avoid Type 2 Diabetes

A new study presented at this year’s American Diabetes Association’s 71^st Annual Scientific Sessions suggests a simple way for doctors to help people who may be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The SHIELD study (The Study to Help Improve Early evaluation and management of risk factors Leading to Diabetes) showed that patients with risk factors related to their age, family history, and obesity significantly increase their risk of transition to type 2 diabetes by as much as 300 to 500 percent. Doctors who understand pre-diabetes risk factors and ask the right questions of their patients can quickly identify at-risk patients before they develop the disease, the study suggests. 

 

The SHIELD study is the largest nongovernmental study of its kind and was sponsored by AstraZeneca. SHIELD was a population-based survey conducted from 2004 to 2009 to better understand the risk for the development of diabetes mellitus, as well as disease burden.

 “This collection of patient self-reported data has given us valuable real-world evidence of how doctors can help patients manage their risks of developing type 2 diabetes,” said Susan Grandy, PhD, Value Demonstration Leader and SHIELD Study Director, Health Economics & Outcomes Research at AstraZeneca.  

Diabetes affects 25.6 million adults in the United States, or 11.3 percent of the total adult population. Type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 90 to 95 percent of all cases of diagnosed diabetes in adults.

To read more about the specific findings of SHIELD, click here.

-By Corey Windett, Senior Manager for Brand Corporate Affairs at AstraZeneca