Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Your weekly roundup of STAT's First Opinion

What do ping pong balls and the Empire State Building have to do with drug pricing? How do we begin talking about what may be the next big thing in assisted reproduction: making sperm and eggs from skin and other cells? Read on for answers to those and other questions that First Opinion authors probed this week. If you have an idea for First Opinion, please send it to first.opinion@statnews.com.

‘Anchoring’ was at work in setting the price of Novartis’ new gene therapy

By PETER B. BACH

ADOBE

In the U.S., drugs are priced at what the market will bear. A concept known as anchoring helped prime us for the $2.1 million price tag for Zolgensma.

As Americans shun the measles vaccine, the residents of Idjwi are dying to get it

By JACQUES SEBISAHO

LUKE DENNISON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

In Idjwi, many parents would give anything for their children to receive the vaccine. They know all too well what can happen to unvaccinated children.

Creating eggs and sperm from stem cells: the next big thing in assisted reproduction?

By I. GLENN COHEN AND ALEX PEARLMAN

LEYUN WANG

It may someday be possible to make sperm and egg cells from muscle, liver, skin, and types of other cells. That raises a host of ethical issues.

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The shortage of haloperidol, an ‘old’ drug, haunts me

By MAYA GOTTFRIED

ADOBE

I have depended on haloperidol for most of my adult life to treat my mental illness. An ongoing shortage makes me fearful I won't be able to get it.

Pregnant women with substance use disorders need treatment, not prison

By MARTY JESSUP

ERIC GAY/AP

It's time to end criminal prosecution and punitive civil actions and guarantee unobstructed access to treatment for women with substance use disorders.

STAT Plus: Biomarkers provide a bridge to the next frontier in immuno-oncology

By GREY WILKINSON

SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Next-generation cancer therapies work, but not in everyone. Biomarkers can help identify good candidates and track whether a therapy is working.

Genetic testing: the next big arena for fraud?

By BOB THOMAS

ALEX HOGAN/STAT

If you can get a saliva swab and a Medicare number from an unsuspecting senior and falsify a doctor's order, there's an easy four-figure sum to be had.

Proposed patent legislation would block research, stifle innovation, and harm patients

By OTHMAN LARAKI

ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

Proposed changes to the Patent Act that would allow human genes and naturally occurring disease associations to be patented are a bad idea.

DiMe: Calling all who serve in digital medicine

By JEN GOLDSACK AND BEAU WOODS AND ERIC PERAKSLIS

ADOBE

A new professional society aims to bring together clinicians, ethicists, engineers, cybersecurity professionals, and others working in digital medicine.

STAT Plus: How to apply real-world evidence to outsmart cancer

By CHRISTOPHER BOONE AND VIRAJ NARAYANAN

ADOBE

We are in a new era of drug discovery, development, and ultimately approval informed by data.

Hiding in plain sight: The FDA’s approach to disclosing new drug applications is a disservice to public health

By PETER G. LURIE

ADOBE

The FDA doesn't disclose new drug applications, treating them as confidential commercial information, even though the applicants routinely publicize them.