Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

FDA’s Gottlieb Blames Industry ‘Kabuki Drug Pricing’ for High Costs

Yasmeen Abutaleb  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief, Scott Gottlieb, criticized pharmacy benefit managers, health insurers and drugmakers on Wednesday for “Kabuki drug-pricing constructs” that profit the industry at the expense of consumers. The comments, made at a conference organized by a leading U.S. health insurer lobbying group, stoked speculation over what steps the administration of…

Novartis, U.S. Partner Plan Remote Trials to Boost Participation

Reuters Staff  |  

ZURICH (Reuters)—Novartis plans up to 10 clinical trials over three years using a U.S. partner’s mobile technology to help free patients from burdensome hospital trips as the Swiss drugmaker aims to boost study participation and cut costs. Novartis said on Wednesday it would work with Science 37, a California-based company that provides technology including smart…

Opioids No Better Than NSAIDs for Chronic Back or Arthritis Pain

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—Acetaminophen, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are better than opioids at easing the intensity of chronic pain in the back, knees or hips, a U.S. experiment suggests. And opioids are no better than these other drugs at reducing how much pain interferes with daily activities, such as walking, working, sleeping or enjoying…

Support Your Young Scientists

Arthritis Care & Research  |  

As the demand for rheumatology services increases, many rheumatologists struggle to maintain an academic research career. The absence of mentoring is often reported as a barrier to a career in research. To address this concern, researchers assessed the current state or mentorship in adult rheumatology, identifying what facilitates a successful mentor-mentee relationship for early career investigators to develop the framework for an interinstitutional mentoring program…

Lyme Disease Spreads Through Ontario

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New research highlights the current geographic areas of Ontario, Canada, associated with Lyme disease and the presence of Ixodes scapularis. The study found the ticks are expanding their range at a rate of 46–55 km/year, with several sites showing the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease. These findings may help target public health interventions in the areas at greatest risk…

Healthy Diet Linked to Lower Hip Fracture Risk in U.S. Women

Mary Gillis  |  

(Reuters Health)—Eating an overall healthy diet is tied to a lower risk of hip fracture among women over age 50, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers analyzed decades’ worth of dietary and health data for more than 100,000 U.S. men and women. They found that women who scored highest on the American Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI)…

Synovial Analysis Identifies Distinct Rheumatoid Arthritis Subtypes

Will Boggs MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Synovial gene expression and histology can be used to divide rheumatoid arthritis (RA) into high, low, and mixed inflammatory subtypes, according to results from the Accelerating Medicine Partnership: RA/SLE Network. “The actionable implication of these findings is that it may be worth considering synovial biopsies in patients who are not responding to…

TNF Inhibitors May Not Be Linked to Cancer Risk in Kids

Rita Buckley  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Using tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors in children is not significantly associated with cancer risk, according to a new study. “TNF inhibitors are remarkably effective for the treatment of many autoimmune conditions, but physicians worry that they cause cancer,” Dr. Timothy Beukelman from the University of Alabama in Birmingham told Reuters Health…

Biosimilar Bill Prompts Formation of Nebraska Rheumatology Society

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Last year, Nebraska rheumatologist Marcus Snow, MD, learned a biosimilar bill was up for debate in his state legislature, yet “I had no knowledge of it,” he says. Forming the Society The bill “was something that caught my eye, and I thought there should be a mechanism in place to allow us to disseminate information…