It's official: the UK's National Health Service will start using Johnson & Johnson's Velcade, under an unprecedented money-back-guarantee program [1]. Patients who respond to the drug will be fully funded. Patients who respond only minimally or not all all will be taken off Velcade, and J&J will refund the cost to NHS. The guarantee was the only way J&J could persuade the National Institute for Clinical Excellence--the drug gatekeepers for NHS--to reimburse for the drug at all.
- check out the CNN Money report [2]
- read an analysis [3] of the deal in The Telegraph
Related Articles:
J&J drug gets money-back guarantee. Report [1]
Positive Velcade data fuels stock rise. Report [4]
NHS fights expensive Alzheimer's drugs. Report [5]
Metric: Biotech drugs fueling costs. Report [6]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/j-j-drug-gets-money-back-guarantee/2007-10-11
[2] http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/
[3] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/23/
[4] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/spotlight-positive-velcade-data-fuels-stock-rise/2007-09-18
[5] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/nhs-fights-expensive-alzheimers-drugs/2007-08-10
[6] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/metric-biotech-drugs-fueling-costs/2005-06-14