Wayne Winegarden
Climate Change
The Unintended Consequences Of ESG Activism
As of the end of 2019, Blackrock (the largest asset manager in the world) held $7.4 trillion in assets. To put this in perspective, relative to the $90 trillion value of the global stock markets, Blackrock’s holdings equaled 8 percent of the total value. Given its size, it was inevitable that ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 18, 2020
Commentary
Anti-Science Precautionary Principle Jeopardizes Health, Safety, And Risks Innovation
Medical innovations do not happen overnight. Whether it is gene therapies, new vaccines, or cutting-edge medical equipment, developing innovative medical products is a risky venture. It also takes time, lots of financial resources, and most importantly, human ingenuity. Developing new drugs, for instance, can take between 10 and 15 years. ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 15, 2020
Commentary
ICER’s Cost Model Is Not Only Wrong It’s Also Dangerous
There they go again. In the midst of the race for an effective COVID-19 treatment the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has performed an incomplete analysis of remdesivir in order to produce a cost estimate that is, by definition, precisely wrong. Remdesivir, produced by Gilead Sciences Inc., is ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 11, 2020
Commentary
The Savings Potential Of Biosimilars Is More Urgent Than Ever
It was not long ago that the economy’s rising tide was supporting state budgets across the country. As the Pew Charitable Trusts noted, widespread economic prosperity was supporting tax revenue growth and creating budget surpluses. When times are good, saving money is not always a priority in state capitols. But, times are ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 7, 2020
Blog
And The Damage From AB 5 Begins
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has officially filed suit against Uber and Lyft for violating Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5). The action is a clear signal that the state’s policy leaders are determined to maximize the economic damage from this ill-considered policy at a time when millions have been furloughed ...
Wayne Winegarden
May 6, 2020
Commentary
Buy American Mandates Will Weaken Our Response To The Coronavirus
Forcing a restructuring of the current pharmaceutical supply chain is a terrible idea. Yet, as a recent Wall Street Journal editorial exemplifies, there is growing support for this ill-considered policy. And, these proposals are not simply mere academic musings. The Trump Administration may implement an Executive Order that would turn this idea ...
Wayne Winegarden
April 30, 2020
Blog
COVID-19 Reminds Us That Both Innovation and Affordability Are Needed
In her March 25 Forbes editorial, Sally Pipes documented how the private sector is rising to the health challenges of the coronavirus. Whether it is Moderna launching clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine or Gilead Sciences investigating whether one of its medicines, Remdesivir, is effective against the coronavirus, private sector ...
Wayne Winegarden
April 21, 2020
Commentary
The Medicare Bureaucracy Is Unnecessarily Putting Kidney Patients At Risk
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance for healthcare facilities in response to the COVID-19 virus including asking all U.S. healthcare facilities to “explore alternatives to face-to-face triage and visits.” The CDC has issued this recommendation to help contain the spread of the virus, protect healthcare workers from ...
Wayne Winegarden
April 6, 2020
Commentary
Expand Pharmacists’ Authority To Promote Access To Forthcoming COVID-19 Vaccine
Private pharmaceutical companies and the National Institutes of Health have outdone themselves. Thanks to the funding provided by the NIH, a Phase 1 clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine is underway. In separate efforts, Inovio, Sanofi, Vaxart, GlaxoSmithKline, and Johnson & Johnson are all developing potential vaccines. In total, “about 35 companies ...
Wayne Winegarden
March 31, 2020
Featured
NEW ISSUE BRIEF: Expanding Biosimilars Use Could Save Patients, Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs By 17 Percent
Expanding the use of biosimilars to treat serious illnesses like cancer or auto-immune diseases could reduce a patient’s out-of-pocket costs by 17 percent, finds a new issue brief released today by the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the Pacific Research Institute. Click here to download the study “Biologics ...
Wayne Winegarden
March 9, 2020
The Unintended Consequences Of ESG Activism
As of the end of 2019, Blackrock (the largest asset manager in the world) held $7.4 trillion in assets. To put this in perspective, relative to the $90 trillion value of the global stock markets, Blackrock’s holdings equaled 8 percent of the total value. Given its size, it was inevitable that ...
Anti-Science Precautionary Principle Jeopardizes Health, Safety, And Risks Innovation
Medical innovations do not happen overnight. Whether it is gene therapies, new vaccines, or cutting-edge medical equipment, developing innovative medical products is a risky venture. It also takes time, lots of financial resources, and most importantly, human ingenuity. Developing new drugs, for instance, can take between 10 and 15 years. ...
ICER’s Cost Model Is Not Only Wrong It’s Also Dangerous
There they go again. In the midst of the race for an effective COVID-19 treatment the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has performed an incomplete analysis of remdesivir in order to produce a cost estimate that is, by definition, precisely wrong. Remdesivir, produced by Gilead Sciences Inc., is ...
The Savings Potential Of Biosimilars Is More Urgent Than Ever
It was not long ago that the economy’s rising tide was supporting state budgets across the country. As the Pew Charitable Trusts noted, widespread economic prosperity was supporting tax revenue growth and creating budget surpluses. When times are good, saving money is not always a priority in state capitols. But, times are ...
And The Damage From AB 5 Begins
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has officially filed suit against Uber and Lyft for violating Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5). The action is a clear signal that the state’s policy leaders are determined to maximize the economic damage from this ill-considered policy at a time when millions have been furloughed ...
Buy American Mandates Will Weaken Our Response To The Coronavirus
Forcing a restructuring of the current pharmaceutical supply chain is a terrible idea. Yet, as a recent Wall Street Journal editorial exemplifies, there is growing support for this ill-considered policy. And, these proposals are not simply mere academic musings. The Trump Administration may implement an Executive Order that would turn this idea ...
COVID-19 Reminds Us That Both Innovation and Affordability Are Needed
In her March 25 Forbes editorial, Sally Pipes documented how the private sector is rising to the health challenges of the coronavirus. Whether it is Moderna launching clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine or Gilead Sciences investigating whether one of its medicines, Remdesivir, is effective against the coronavirus, private sector ...
The Medicare Bureaucracy Is Unnecessarily Putting Kidney Patients At Risk
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance for healthcare facilities in response to the COVID-19 virus including asking all U.S. healthcare facilities to “explore alternatives to face-to-face triage and visits.” The CDC has issued this recommendation to help contain the spread of the virus, protect healthcare workers from ...
Expand Pharmacists’ Authority To Promote Access To Forthcoming COVID-19 Vaccine
Private pharmaceutical companies and the National Institutes of Health have outdone themselves. Thanks to the funding provided by the NIH, a Phase 1 clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine is underway. In separate efforts, Inovio, Sanofi, Vaxart, GlaxoSmithKline, and Johnson & Johnson are all developing potential vaccines. In total, “about 35 companies ...
NEW ISSUE BRIEF: Expanding Biosimilars Use Could Save Patients, Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs By 17 Percent
Expanding the use of biosimilars to treat serious illnesses like cancer or auto-immune diseases could reduce a patient’s out-of-pocket costs by 17 percent, finds a new issue brief released today by the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the Pacific Research Institute. Click here to download the study “Biologics ...