Olivier Wouters

Associate Professor @BrownHSPP
Affiliate Faculty @PORTAL_Research
Investigating global disparities in access to medicines

[Olivier Wouters @ojwouters]

In our new @NEJM piece, we explore how the US came to spend billions of $$ over the past decade on a medicine first approved more than 40 years ago

@wbfeldman has put together a nice summary of our proposed solutions

@SeanTu2 @PORTAL_Research

https://t.co/mf19WsL2iV

[William Feldman @wbfeldman]

1/ In 2008, @US_FDA phased out #albuterol inhalers w/ ozone-depleting CFCs, including several generics.

Since then, brand-name firms have reaped $14 billion in sales on albuterol products--though the active ingredient went off #patent in 1989!

https://t.co/MrORdRNaZa

🧵👇

[Olivier Wouters @ojwouters]

8/ Join Health Affairs’ Jessica Bylander (@jebylander) and me for a virtual “journal club” on October 21st at 11am EDT (4pm BST) where we’ll talk about the paper. Message me if you’d like to attend!

https://t.co/TnTJaH6tIL

[Olivier Wouters @ojwouters]

New study out in @Health_Affairs in which we analyzed how long it takes for new medicines to reach low- and middle-income countries.

The bottom line: We observed vast inequities in global access to medicines.

https://t.co/piudTABCrY

@LSEStatistics

[Olivier Wouters @ojwouters]

7/ Governments and companies urgently need to come up with strategies to address these disparities.

Launch delays prevent large numbers of people from accessing potentially life-saving treatment, with severe consequences for health inequalities globally.

[Peter Neumann @PeterNeumann11]

Thanks to @ojwouters for visiting @TuftsCEVR and a truly excellent presentation on drug R&D expenditures, #HTA policies, & drug #patents.

@Brown_SPH @PORTAL_Research @UW_Pharmacy @LSE @ihdezdelso

[Kerstin Noëlle Vokinger @KNVokinger]

New piece: Drugs increasingly approved for many indications. Findings indicate substantially lower R&D costs for supplemental indications compared to first indications. More public data necessary to validate findings.

with @ojwouters @LSEHealthPolicy

https://t.co/gEslklVwvN

[Kristina Jenei @kjmeetswrld]

🚨New @TheLancetOncol research was published right before #ASCO23 with a team of talented co-authors from around the 🌏, led by myself and @oncology_bg

My post #ASCO2023 🧵👇

https://t.co/Jam0ubcBv0

[Laia Maynou Pujolràs @LaiaMaynou]

In our new publication at Research Policy with @abanalestanol, @JofreBonet, Giulia Iori, Michele Tumminello and Pietro Vassallo, we evaluate the incremental impact of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 in the fields of Economics and Business.1/5 https://t.co/6VQs7yW6wc

[The BMJ @bmj_latest]

Regulated information sources for anticancer drugs in Europe fail to address the information needs of patients, finds study.

If patients lack access to such information, clinical decisions may not align with their preferences and needs, warn researchers
https://t.co/hkuUlUXyLV

[LSE Health Policy @LSEHealthPolicy]

Want to learn more about pharmaceutical policy and economics? In a new report commissioned by @HealthFdn #REAL Centre, the Department’s Huseyin Naci & @robinjforrest_ explain pharmaceutical discovery, development, approval and adoption.

➡️ Access here: https://t.co/194uMOrvhc

[LSE Health Policy @LSEHealthPolicy]

In new @JAMAHealthForum paper, @LSEHealthPolicy’s Huseyin Naci and @robinjforrest_ examine the insurer restrictions on new drugs in the US Medicare program➡️https://t.co/gYNupVaVAm

@akesselheim @PORTAL_Research

[Olivier Wouters @ojwouters]

Fascinating deep dive into the AstraZeneca-Fiocruz partnership that saw Brazil produce millions of doses of the AZ vaccine. Offers lots of insights into vaccine technology transfer

@Emassard, Ken Shadlen (@LSE_ID) and Helena Moraes Achcar (@FGV_EAESP)

https://t.co/GlNtDvhHMy

[The BMJ @bmj_latest]

High drug prices are not justified by industry’s research and development spending, argue @Aris_Angelis and colleagues.

From 1999 to 2018, the world’s 15 largest biopharmaceutical companies spent more on selling, general, and admin activities than on R&D
https://t.co/VpJchNdK9y

[Aris Angelis - Άρης Αγγελής @aris_angelis]

Are high drug prices justified? In our @bmj_latest Analysis we investigate the spending of the 15 largest biopharmaceutical companies over 20 years and review available evidence on the added therapeutic benefit of new medicines. @ojwouters @ElsTorreele @mckee @LSHTM_GHECO

[William Feldman @wbfeldman]

From 2000-2021, manufacturers earned $111 billion on brand-name #inhalers in the US AFTER patents on their active ingredients had expired.

How?

By patenting other aspects of the products (e.g., delivery devices).

New piece out in @JAMA_current

https://t.co/2PQgsy4dAf

🧵

[Kristina Jenei @kjmeetswrld]

🚨New publication out in @LancetGH from us supporting increasingly complex decisions to list new cancer medicines on @WHO Essential Medicines List.
👇🏼
We shed light on processes, challenges, and a way forward #globaloncology

https://t.co/b4OIllAVNO