Laura Joszt, MA

A meta-analysis from 3 economists concluded that nonpharmaceutical interventions in response to COVID-19 failed to have a large, significant effect on mortality rates.

The Biosimilars Initiative in British Columbia, Canada, mandated patients with certain conditions on the province’s prescription coverage plan to switch from originator etanercept to a biosimilar.

This represents the approval of the first bispecific antibody to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME).

Disease progression was more likely to be the best response to immunotherapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Biogen is selling its stake in the biosimilar joint venture to Samsung Bioepis for up to $2.3 billion after first investing in 2012.

Incyte has become the latest company to pull an FDA filing following Gilead and Secura Bio, which both voluntarily withdrew therapies that had been granted accelerated approval but hadn’t completed confirmatory studies for full approval.

A review of 3 common risk assessment tools for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) found they successfully predict survival for up to 5 years after initial diagnosis.

The trastuzumab biosimilar Herzuma was shown to have similar clinical efficacy and safety to the reference product in patients with HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer.

Compared with the European Union, biosimilar use in the United States lags, and the US government, health systems, and medical associations all have a role to play.

A meta-analysis found an association between Kawasaki disease and subsequent asthma and allergic rhinitis.

The most-read chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) articles of the year covered use of inhaled corticosteroids, palliative care for advanced COPD, and off-label prescribing of COPD therapies.

In 2021, there were some changes to recommendations and an important FDA approval for patients with heart failure or who are at risk of heart disease.

Articles on treating and protecting patients with blood cancers from COVID-19 and the positive results of zanubrutinib to treat leukemia and lymphoma were among the most read of the year.

The most-read AJAC papers of 2021 analyze real-world programs to transform health care and provide insight into physician perspectives of health care and insurance.

Behavioral cough therapy should be used as early intervention, said Laurie Slovarp, PhD, CCC-SLP, associate professor in the School of Speech, Language, Hearing, and Occupational Sciences at University of Montana.

Despite being the seventh adalimumab biosimilar approved in the United States, there are none on the market yet.

Readers were most interested in articles about cost of therapy, drug efficacy, and a unique case related to COVID-19.

Epigenetics has a role in choosing the right medicine in lung cancer, artificial intelligence can predict outcomes in a highly aggressive cancer, and more.

A study of the adult Korean population found high salt intake was associated with an increase in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Research using data from the ASH Research Collaborative COVID-19 Registry for Hematology identified risk factors for severe infection and mortality for patients with blood cancers who were infected with COVID-19.

Two posters presented at The Liver Meeting evaluated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)–associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to understand the burden and identify the risk for developing HCC.

This year the United States only approved 2 biosimilars, but the FDA did grant interchangeable status to the first biosimilar.

Marcus Neubauer, MD, chief medical officer, The US Oncology Network. He is an expert in precision medicine, value-based care, and clinical pathways.

Jeffrey Patton, MD, is the CEO of OneOncology, a national partnership of independent community oncologists based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is also executive chairman of the board, Tennessee Oncology, and a member of the board, Community Oncology Alliance.

Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, is the executive director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, a strategic partnership between Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt College of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. She is also Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and professor of radiation oncology, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is scheduled to end in just a few months, but with no new model in place to succeed it and practices still struggling during the pandemic, CMS should allow OCM to continue, said Kashyap Patel, MD, a co-chair of Patient-Centered Oncology Care® and the current president of the Community Oncology Alliance. He is CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates.

As the pandemic wore on, fewer patients with sickle cell disease who did contract COVID-19 needed to be hospitalized.

Most people are aware of what triggers their chronic cough and how to temporarily suppress it, said Laurie Slovarp, PhD, CCC-SLP, associate professor in the School of Speech, Language, Hearing, and Occupational Sciences at University of Montana.

Under the expanded FDA label, up to 1.8 million individuals in the United States could be eligible for sacubitril/valsartan, and up to 180,000 worsening heart failure (HF) events could be prevented or postponed.

Two posters presented at The Liver Meeting identified the primary care coordinators for patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and areas of unmet need among specialists to provide optimal management.