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An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Prosecutors Identify Insys Founder as Unindicted Co-conspirator in Opioid Case

Nate Raymond  |  

BOSTON (Reuters)—U.S. prosecutors have identified Insys Therapeutics Inc’s billionaire founder as an unindicted co-conspirator in a case accusing six former executives and managers of participating in a scheme that involved bribing doctors to prescribe a fentanyl-based drug, according to a court document. John Kapoor, who stepped down as chief executive of Insys in January, was…

FDA Approves First Biosimilar for the Treatment of Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration  |  

Mvasi, a biosimilar to the cancer drug Avastin, is approved for certain colorectal, lung, brain, kidney and cervical cancers The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Mvasi (bevacizumab-awwb) as a biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab) for the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Mvasi is the first biosimilar approved in the U.S. for the treatment…

Key U.S. Senators Reach Deal on Funding Children’s Health Program

Reuters Staff  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Leaders of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee said on Tuesday they reached an agreement to finance a federal insurance program for millions of lower-income children and pregnant women that was due to expire at the end of the month. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, chairman of the finance committee, and the panel’s top Democrat, Senator…

Doctors Who Take Pharmaceutical Money Use Twitter to Hype Drugs

Ronnie Cohen  |  

(Reuters Health)—Some cancer doctors use Twitter to promote drugs manufactured by companies that pay them, but they almost never disclose their conflicts of interest on the social media platform, a new study shows. “This is a big problem,” says senior author Dr. Vinay Prasad, a professor at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. “Doctors…

U.S. Tribal Patent Deal Could Impact Generic Drug Market

Jan Wolfe  |  

(Reuters)—A groundbreaking deal between Allergan Plc. and a Native American tribe to shield the company’s patents in administrative proceedings could also be used be to protect them from challenges in federal court, legal experts say, potentially dealing a blow to generic competition. Allergan said on Friday it had transferred patents on its blockbuster dry eye…

Ibuprofen More Likely to Raise BP than Naproxen or Celecoxib

Anne Harding  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Ibuprofen boosts blood pressure (BP) more than naproxen or celecoxib in patients who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to treat arthritis, according to a new substudy from the PRECISION trial. “These drugs are different with regard to BP, and ibuprofen is the worst,” Dr. Frank Ruschitzka of University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland,…

Visit the New RISE Dashboard!

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Current participants of the Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE) Registry can now access the RISE dashboard and receive an estimated MIPS score for the 2017 performance year. (Note: This score is only an estimation and cannot guarantee the type of future payment adjustment; only CMS can determine penalties and bonuses.) If you are a current user,…

Rheumatology & The Gender Pay Gap

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On average, male rheumatologists earn 16.2%—or $38,493—more than female rheumatologists. Although the data seem jarring, a closer look at it is needed to truly understand the pay gap…