Globalization of the world’s economy has clearly created both major advances and ongoing challenges including in the pharmaceutical industry. Naming of pharmaceuticals might seem to be an uninteresting topic to those outside of the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, as I learned many years ago as a volunteer member of the US Pharmacopeia (USP) Nomenclature Committee, […]
This third issue of GaBI Journal in 2018 contains manuscripts which discuss a number of important, post-marketing, ‘real world’ generic and biosimilar medicinal product issues. In a Commentary, Pitts and Reilly discuss why they believe that unique product names are needed for both generics and biosimilar medicinal products. They discuss the need for consideration of […]
The second issue of the 2018 GaBI Journal volume is being published at a time of increasing uncertainty concerning trade, tariffs, regulations as well as international and even inter-ally co-operation. This issue contains manuscripts discussing some changes which are either being asked for, or which are already occurring, with the potential to increase the global […]
There are many frustrating differences between reality and what is possible in every aspect of life, including politics, economics, science and health. This issue begins with a Commentary by Adjunct Professor Pekka Kurki about the differences between what could be versus what has been done in the European Union (EU) to reduce biological drug costs. […]
Change is inevitable but often resisted, including or even especially in medicine. Hand washing is still neglected 170 years after Semmelweis’ work, misuse of antibiotics persists 72 years after Fleming warned about it, and use of generics and biosimilars remains suboptimal. This final 2017 issue of the GaBI Journal deals with many of the barriers […]
It is clear that greater use of generics and biosimilars could greatly decrease healthcare costs and thereby increase availability of important medicines. It is equally clear that these potential savings are seldom achieved. The disconnect between what is possible and what is being achieved is related to a lack of trust on behalf of patients, […]
The use both generics and biosimilars offers the potential to increase availability of medicines through decreases in cost that should occur when an expensive product (drug) loses patent protection and lower cost alternatives are marketed in countries with a ‘free-market’ economy. As the manuscripts in this issue of GaBI Journal emphasize, it is clear however […]
This first issue of 2017 includes a range of manuscripts of interest to readers. A Letter to the Editor from Professor Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim and Nada Moustafa Abdel Rida proposes steps that governments and international organizations have taken or need to do, especially with respect to pricing of pharmaceuticals, to make ‘Essential Medicines’ more […]
This fourth and final GaBI Journal issue of 2016 begins with the paper by Adjunct Professor Pekka Kurki about ‘applying ancient principles in a modern society’ in which he discusses a perspective recently published in our journal from Annese et al. that presented the skeptical views expressed by Italian gastroenterologists concerning extrapolation of indications for […]
The informed, appropriate use of follow-on pharmacological agents can provide significant cost savings for patients and payers. These savings can then be used by governments and patients to increase access to health care. However, the actual savings realized depend on a complex series of factors including how ‘similar’ the products actually are to the innovator […]
This second issue of 2016 includes manuscripts that cover a number of important issues of interest to GaBI Journal including methods used to assess bioequivalence and decide on interchangeability, patient and advocacy group opinions concerning the use of follow-on products, batch-to-batch consistency in monoclonal antibody production, and the causes and potential ways to deal with the […]
This issue begins with a Letter to the Editor by Professor Fabio V Teixeira from the Brazilian Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Society that deals basically with the issue of extrapolation of indications. The letter states that ‘vigilance remains essential’ for the use of this agent in IBD patients. Professor Teixeira’s letter is in response to […]
