Biotechnology Healthcare - September/October 2008 - (Page 2)

OPENERS EDITOR Michael D. Dalzell EDITOR IN CHIEF, EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD This Is What Matters Michael D. Dalzell, Editor David B. Nash, MD, MBA SENIOR EDITOR Katherine T. Adams SENIOR EDITOR, CUSTOM PUBLICATIONS Amy Krajacic SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS A Amanda Brower Bob Carlson, MHA John Carroll Jack McCain CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Lola Butcher Scott Kober WEB EDITOR Tony Berberabe, MPH DESIGN DIRECTOR Philip Denlinger PRESIDENT AND GROUP PUBLISHER Timothy J. Stezzi PRESIDENT AND GROUP PUBLISHER Timothy P. Search, RPh EASTERN SALES MANAGER Scott MacDonald SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Kenneth D. Watkins III DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION SERVICES Waneta Peart CIRCULATION MANAGER Jacquelyn Ott The articles in BIOTECHNOLOGY HEALTHCARE are reviewed by appropriate members of the editorial board and/or other qualified experts. The opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the institutions that employ the authors, BioCommunications LLC, or the publisher, editor, or editorial board. Clinical judgment must guide each clinician in weighing the benefits of treatment against the risk of toxicity. Dosages, indications, and methods of use for products referred to in this publication may reflect the clinical experience of the authors, or may reflect the professional literature or other clinical sources, and may not be the same as indicated on the approved package insert. Please consult the complete prescribing information on any products mentioned in this publication. BioCommunications LLC assumes no liability for the information published herein. m I becoming a curmudgeon before my time? Or has the whole election thing got anyone else down? It shouldn’t, really; for the first time in a long while, we have not one but two intriguing candidates for president. But after 20 years of the uberpartisanship that has polarized the country and brought the nation’s business to a standstill, I’ve become convinced we need a multiparty system. The presence of three or four dynamic candidates, not just two, would force a discussion about real issues and move the national agenda forward. That would be much more productive than sniping about age and race and plagiarism and lipstick. The present system has devolved, perhaps irreparably, into a two-man mud wrestling event — entertaining but not meaningful. In a race against three others, you can’t take them all into the mud, because you’ll need the support of one or more of them later. Healthcare is a legitimate issue, one of the few getting attention this fall. But all the campaign discourse seems to miss the mark. Providing affordable healthcare and better access to it are important but won’t be achieved until someone pays attention to the 800pound gorilla in the room: Spending 15 to 20 percent of the gross domestic product on healthcare is unsustainable. Nobody wants to touch that one, either because it’s a political third rail, or because it can’t be solved before it’s time for a re-election campaign. Or both. So, we’ve brought the discussion to you, because as one of the experts Lola Butcher interviewed for our cover story puts it, biologics may be the tipping point that forces politicians to address fundamental cost issues. The more we learn about disease — genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger — the more molecular medicine will become an essential part of many treatment regimens. Its cost will dictate that we use it carefully. Not through rationing, but through careful patient selection, adherence to best practices, and elimination of wasteful and ineffective care. If our healthcare system can learn to do this with biologics, it can learn to do this, period — enabling the affordable care and better access that the politicians say they can deliver. Four experts interviewed for our cover story talk about how the outcome of the election may factor in. Now’s the time to act, because a reconciliation of costs and access is coming sooner than anyone wants to imagine. Want proof? Flip to page 8, look at how many biologics have reached phase 3 testing for an assortment of ailments, and judge for yourself. Targeted therapies are not just for cancer and a few esoteric illnesses any more. The tidal wave of biologics that experts say will hit our shores around 2010 is starting to swell right now. Enjoy the issue. CONTACT E-MAIL ADDRESSES: Editors: editors@biotechnologyhealthcare.com Circulation: biotechnologyhealthcare@icnfull.com Advertising: advertising@biotechnologyhealthcare.com Reprints: reprints@biotechnologyhealthcare.com 2 BIOTECHNOLOGY HEALTHCARE · SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Biotechnology Healthcare - September/October 2008

Biotechnology Healthcare - September/October 2008 Openers Editorial/David B. Nash, MD, MBA Contents At a Glance: Multiple Sclerosis Drug Track Personalized Medicine Healthcare Reform’s Effects on Biologic Access Breast Cancer Status Testing: A Crapshoot With Deadly Odds Trends, Issues, and Perspectives In the Management of MS So High-Tech, Yet So Simple The Evolution of Ascertaining the Value Proposition Specialty Pharmacy Employer to Employer Health Plan Confidential Trends

Biotechnology Healthcare - September/October 2008

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