2,339 research outputs found
European Pharmaceutical Price Regulation, Firm Profitability, and R&D Spending
No full textEU countries closely regulate pharmaceutical prices whereas the U.S. does not. This paper shows how price constraints affect the profitability, stock returns, and R&D spending of EU and U.S. firms. Compared to EU firms, U.S. firms are more profitable, earn higher stock returns, and spend more on research and development (R&D). Some differences have increased over time. In 1986, EU pharmaceutical R&D exceeded U.S. R&D by about 24 percent, but by 2004, EU R&D trailed U.S. R&D by about 15 percent. During these 19 years, U.S. R&D spending grew at a real annual compound rate of 8.8 percent, while EU R&D spending grew at a real 5.4 percent rate. Results show that EU consumers enjoyed much lower pharmaceutical price inflation, however, at a cost of 46 fewer new medicines introduced by EU firms and 1680 fewer EU research jobs.
Pharmaceutical Stock Price Reactions to Price Constraint Threats and Firm-Level R&D Spending
No full textPolitical pressure in the United States is again building to constrain pharmaceutical prices either directly or through legalized reimportation of lower-priced pharmaceuticals from foreign countries. This study uses the Clinton Administration's Health Security Act (HSA) of 1993 as a natural experiment to show how threats of price constraints affect firm-level R&D spending. We link events surrounding the HSA to pharmaceutical company stock price changes and then examine the cross-sectional relation between the stock price changes and subsequent unexpected R&D spending changes. Results show that the HSA had significant negative effects on firm stock prices and R&D spending. Conservatively, the HSA reduced R&D spending by $1.6 billion, even though it never became law. If the HSA had passed, and had many small firms not raised capital just prior to the HSA, the R&D effects could have been much larger.
Resolution of the mediators of in vitro oxidative reactivity in size-segregated fractions that may be masked in the urban PM10 cocktail
No full textPM10 (particulate matter 10μm or less in aerodynamic diameter) has consistently been linked with adverse human health effects, but the physicochemical properties responsible for this effect have not been fully elucidated. The aim of this work was to investigate the potential for carbon black (CB) particles and PM to generate ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) and to identify the physicochemical properties of the particles responsible for in vitro oxidative reactivity (OR). PM10 was collected in 11 size fractions at a traffic site in Swansea, UK, using an Electrical Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI). The PM physicochemical properties (including size, morphology, type, and transition metals) were tested. The plasmid scission assay (PSA) was used for OR testing of all particles. The ultrafine and fine PM fractions (N28-2399; 28-2399nm) caused more DNA damage than coarse PM (N2400-10,000), and the increased capacity of the smaller particles to exhibit enhanced (OR) was statistically significant (p<0.05). The most bioreactive fraction of PM was N94-155 with a toxic dose (TD50; mass dose capable of generating 50% plasmid DNA damage) of 69μg/ml. The mean TD35 was lower for PM than CB particles, indicating enhanced OR for PM. A difference between CB and PM in this study was the higher transition metal content of PM. Zn was the most abundant transition metal (by weight) in the ultrafine-fine PM fractions, and Fe in the fine-coarse PM. Through this comparison, part of the observed increased PM OR was attributed to Zn (and Fe). In this study PM-derived DNA damage was dependent upon; 1) particle size, 2) surface area, and 2) transition metals. This study supports the view that ROS formation by PM10 is related to physicochemistry using evidence with an increased particle size resolution
Airborne particles in Swansea, UK: their collection and characterization
No full textUrban air particulate matter (PM) has previously been associated with a variety of adverse health effects. It is now believed that the smallest particles, ultrafine or nanoparticles, are linked to the greatest health effects. The physicochemistry of these particles is likely to provide information regarding their toxicity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to further the understanding of the heterogeneous and changing particle concentrations in urban air, in conjunction with gaining an understanding of the physicochemistry of the particles. A Dekati electrical low-pressure impactor was used to collect the particles and real-time data in a busy traffic corridor in Swansea, Wales, over a period of 10 nonconsecutive weeks. Particle concentrations in the street canyon were analyzed and particle physicochemistries investigated using a variety of techniques. Particle number concentrations were found to vary both diurnally and from day to day in the traffic corridor. Of all particles, the nano to fine size fraction was consistently identified in the highest concentrations (maximum: 140,000 particles cm-3). Particle physicochemistry was found to vary as a function of size, with larger particles exhibiting a greater variety of morphologies (and consequently particle types) and associated metals
Creating and Scaling Innovative School Models Through Strategic Partnerships
No full text· The Texas High School Project (THSP) was created in 2003 as a public-private alliance to support education reform across the state.
· This article focuses on the pivotal role of philanthropy within the THSP alliance to create early college high schools (ECHS).
· The model has been scaled at different levels to produce direct, affordable pathways for students to both attend college and attain skilled careers.
· The ECHS schools have higher test scores, greater credits earned, and reduced dropouts rates compared to traditional schools.
· Foundations with a track record for supporting successful work can increase the overall commitment to joint projects and attract additional members and support to an alliance.
· Lessons for successful partnerships include investing in time together, managing the partnership through one organization, and using data for decision-making
Institutional Racism and the Dynamics of Privilege in Public Health
No full textInstitutional racism, a pattern of differential access to material resources and power determined by race, advantages one sector of the population while disadvantaging another. Such racism is not only about conspicuous acts of violence but can be carried in the hold of mono-cultural perspectives. Overt state violation of principles contributes to the backdrop against which much less overt yet insidious violations occur. New Zealand health policy is one such mono-cultural domain. It is dominated by western bio-medical discourses that preclude and under-value Māori, the indigenous peoples of this land, in the conceptualisation, structure, content, and processes of health policies, despite Te Tiriti o Waitangi guarantees to protect Māori interests.
Since the 1980s, the Department of Health has committed to honouring the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of Māori-settler relationships and governance arrangements. Subsequent Waitangi Tribunal reports, produced by an independent Commission of Inquiry have documented the often-illegal actions of successive governments advancing the interests of Pākehā at the expense of Māori. Institutional controls have not prevented inequities between Māori and non-Māori across a plethora of social and economic indicators.
Activist scholars work to expose and transform perceived inequities. My research interest lies in how Crown Ministers and officials within the public health sector practice institutional racism and privilege and how it can be transformed. Through dialogue with Māori working within the health sector, fuelled by critical analysis and strategic advice from a research whānau (family) of Māori health leaders and a Pākehā Tiriti worker, and embracing the traditions of feminist and critical race theory I provide evidence of racism that can invoke strong emotional reactions. More disturbing is its normalisation to nigh imperceptibility within ones personal and professional life. The exposure of racism as a socially created phenomenon is a strength of the research presented here.
My action orientation is my ethical response. Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a pathway to transforming racism. Such change is likely to be resisted by the Pākehā majority. This anticipated resistance is not a credible reason to weaken responsibility for such necessary change. Transforming institutional racism needs to be driven by senior managers, professional bodies, unions, and by communities. Policies, practices and leadership that enable institutional racism need to be systematically eliminated from the health sector. Crown officials must be supported to strengthen their professional accountabilities and to embrace ethical bicultural practice. Greater transparency could enable more effective monitoring of Crown behaviour and support transformed practice
Using imagery to solve spatial problems
No full textThis report focuses on the use of imagery to solve a range of spatial problems. The research projects reviewed in this report offer some insight into the range of strategies used by solvers of spatial problems and point to relationships between spatial and verbal skills
Heather D. Dehaan, Stalinist City Planning, Professionals, Performance, and Power
No full textHeather DeHaan’s book, entitled Stalinist City Planning, is at first glance “only” a case study of Nizhnii Novgorod. At second glance, however, it delivers exactly what the title promises – not in the sense of an encompassing survey but as a well‑chosen approach which enables the author to present a deep‑cutting and multifaceted analysis of the functioning of city planning and planning in general in the Stalinist Soviet Union. This achievement is partially due to the fact that Nizhnii Novgoro..
Heather D. Dehaan, Stalinist City Planning, Professionals, Performance, and Power
No full textHeather DeHaan’s book, entitled Stalinist City Planning, is at first glance “only” a case study of Nizhnii Novgorod. At second glance, however, it delivers exactly what the title promises – not in the sense of an encompassing survey but as a well‑chosen approach which enables the author to present a deep‑cutting and multifaceted analysis of the functioning of city planning and planning in general in the Stalinist Soviet Union. This achievement is partially due to the fact that Nizhnii Novgoro..
The Effects of Price Regulation on Pharmaceutical R&D and Innovation
No full textAs rising health care expenditures focus government attention on slowing the growth, the pharmaceutical industry comes under increasing pressure to curb prices of ethical drugs. Pharmaceutical price regulations have been implemented in many countries to control pharmaceutical expenditures. Yet, creating innovative drugs requires enormous R&D costs, which in turn require adequate expected economic returns. Since price controls reduce profits and expected returns, as countries invoke stricter price regulations, firms will either move their R&D process into less regulated markets or move out of innovative R&D. This paper assesses the impact of drug price regulations in Japan compared to market-priced drugs in the US on pharmaceutical innovation
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