July 2009 Archives

This morning, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius addresses the Weight of the Nation Conference. 

According to presentations from the conference, more than two thirds of American adults--and almost one out of every five American children--are obese or overweight.   This is shocking to me.  Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, some cancers, and stroke, and is the single biggest predictor of diabetes.   

A new report that Sebelius cited in her remarks states that obesity costs our health system as much as $147 billion a year, almost double since the last time the CDC calculated it in 1998.

"To put that figure in perspective," she said, "the American Cancer Society estimates that all cancers combined cost our health care system $93 billion a year.  So ending obesity would save our health care system fifty percent more dollars than curing cancer."

This is an epidemic, but it isn't treated as one.  We are all responsible--from individuals making smart food choices for themselves and their families, to making cities safer and more walkable and bike-friendly, to educating students about nutrition and making physical education a requirement in schools.  That's just off the top of my head. 

The War on Obesity doesn't have the same resonance as some of the other health wars we've waged, but it is a war we must win--for our health and for our national wallet.

Photo courtesy of MANNA

Our Communications group got the chance to volunteer at MANNA, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing meals for the chronically ill. Our effort came under the umbrella of "Orange Day," a new initiative created by our CEO Andrew Witty, which encourages every employee to take one day to volunteer in their community. MANNA, initially created by a local church to meet the needs of the HIV community in the early 90s, has grown into a self supporting non-profit organization serving a range of the sick and homebound in the Philadelphia area.

In previous years, some members of our group and I, had volunteered at MANNA and for a moment I was tempted to think, "Been there done that... Is it possible to get something new out of it today?" Before leaving home, I allowed myself to get derailed by an incoming phone call from a long-distance friend, so I skipped breakfast to make up the time, arriving at the office just in time to head out to MANNA with my colleagues. For starters, it was an interesting experience handling food all morning while starving! It gave me a different perspective on being hungry - allowing me to imagine being at the mercy of others to meet my basic food needs. I felt compelled to work harder and faster, in my own small way doing my part to make sure these people already fighting grave illnesses, do not have to go without food. Our fellow workers were delightful and diverse, from high school kids who were commanded to be there by parents or assigned to community service, to MANNA employees, to eager daily volunteers with a passion for MANNA's cause.

Our group of nine managed to pack and freeze 721 meals in about three hours and what fun it was! It was great seeing everyone in a different setting, in aprons, gloves and hairnets - having a chance at teamwork in a completely different way than we're used to. One of them, said to me at the end of the day "Assembly line work, is good for the soul." While I'm not entirely sure about that (sorry, Jeff), I do know that helping others and remembering how much I have but take for granted everyday, was very good for my soul. I also learned I look quite cute in a hairnet!  

Adam Yauch (MCA from the Beastie Boys) announced via a YouTube video that also appeared on the band's website that he has cancer in his parotid gland and a lymph node.  It was caught early and he seemed very positive about his upcoming treatment.

The video was recorded in a music studio, with Adam "Ad Rock" Horovitz and is incredibly informal, immediate, and light-hearted(ish).  Glad to see that even in stressful times, the Boys can find the humor.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, MCA.  And to everyone else, if you feel something weird, get it checked out, yo.

Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson waded into some sensitive terrain with yesterday's op/ed on Francis Collins, President Obama's nominee to head the National Institutes of Health.

Collins, Gerson writes, is a "pioneering "gene hunter"" who

helped identify the genetic markers for cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, Huntington's disease and adult-onset diabetes.  He was in charge of the NIH program that mapped the human genome, the biological equivalent of the Apollo space program.  He is a leading advocate of personalized medicine...

And...

Collins is also a theist.  And more than that, an evangelical Christian.

Gerson goes on to say that many in the scientific community find Collins' appointment to this prestigious post and his "contradictory" point of view unsettling.   That is, not a few of his colleagues find it impossible to square belief in an almighty creator with the pursuit of objective scientific fact.  A poll cited by Gerson shows a very small (single digit) percentage of elite scientists believe in a personal god.

For his part, Collins embraces Darwinian theory but says questions persist that science alone can never answer.  What say you?

I have been home sick all week with flu-like symptoms.  My Mom had back surgery on Friday, and they kept her overnight.  I visited her on Friday night after work and again on Saturday afternoon before we took her home to recuperate.

Now, I hate visiting hospitals and have been lucky enough never to have stayed in one.  (Since Mom was a nurse, we were almost always treated at home.  Threats of the ER did not scare me and my sisters into being careful--threats of being treated by our mother did!)   A positive outcome of this was never having succumbed to a nosocomial infection. 

But now, every time I visit someone in the hospital, I seem to get sick, and it is usually the most uncomfortable type of illness.  I have a theory.  It came to me while I was in a foggy state, but in this moment of clarity I think it still works.  

I grew up in Philadelphia; in actual Philadelphia, not a suburb.  Now I live in a neighborhood that only until recently was described as "up-and-coming."  Now it has come up, I suppose.  But for 10 years, it was pretty dodgy.  Living in an area like that makes you dig in your heels and get stuff done to improve the community.  Hate that empty lot?  Claim it as a garden and grow healthy vegetables since there's not much shopping to be had.  Worried about crime? Start a Town Watch. It's the Urban Renewal Way.  Of course the criminals are digging in their heels as well, so there's no guarantee who is going to win.

Hospital infections are like those criminals who won't leave the neighborhood.  They are super tough, crafty, and you don't know you've been hit until you're lying down saying "what just happened?"

All of a sudden on Sunday, I knew I was hit.  And it felt like the flu.  I tried to get an appointment with my doctor, but could not.  I had to call every morning this week to see if someone cancelled that day.  But no luck so far.  I knew this was not an ER-worthy issue, and, knowing that ER visits are one of the major contributors to our healthcare spending problems, I just couldn't do it.  But it got me to thinking--and NBC Nightly News confirmed it--there are just not enough primary care physicians.  Physicians don't want to go into primary care because it is hard to have a relationship with patients to practice preventive care and ensure care is coordinated (and doesn't pay as well).  But these things are also not easily achieved because there are not enough primary care physicians.  A vicious cycle indeed.

We need to find a way to elevate the role of the GP to attract more medical students.  I know this is obvious and everyone agrees.  But how do we do it?

There is a bit of buzz in DC around "biosimilars."  Congress is currently debating legislation that would create a regulatory pathway for the FDA to approve biosimilars, also called "follow-on biologics." 

As the name implies, biosimilars are similar to, but not the same as, an approved innovator biologic.  This is because biologics derive from living organisms--as diverse as cell cultures, animals, fungi, and plants.  Bill proponents claim that biosimilars could offer significant cost savings.  Others believe the cost savings would be much less due to the substantial expense associated with producing and testing biological products.

Examples of biologics include vaccines, human insulin for diabetes, many hormonal therapies, and drugs for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other auto-immune diseases.  About 630 biotech compounds are in development to treat more than 100 diseases, including 250 for various cancers.

As a healthcare company, we support legislation that would establish a regulatory pathway to approve biosimilar biologics as long as the bill (1) ensures patients' safety by requiring adequate clinical data; and (2) requires at least 14 years of data exclusivity to maintain incentives for innovation that will support the development of future medicines.  A successful pathway will strike the right balance that both ensures patient safety and provides fair incentives for continued biopharmaceutical research.

For more info, visit BIO.

OK, we're a British company but this blog is run by Americans, dang-it!

It is possible then, that our UK colleagues will read this post today and learn that we are A. out of the  office, celebrating our independence from a tyrannical regime and B. celebrating Andy Roddick's huge victory over some guy from an island in the north Atlantic (don't let us down Roddick!!).

Happy Fourth of July!

How do we put a price on life?  It is a seemingly impossible question to answer. 

But an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal suggests it's a dilemma that policymakers aiming to reform the US healthcare system are going to have to address.

The WSJ reports on a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute citing the high cost of cancer treatments for seriously ill patients.  The study authors argue that these therapies are too expensive for the amount of additional time they provide patients, and that spending on such medicines--access to the medicines--should be more tightly controlled.

Oncology is a critical priority for us, an area where we've made major investments in world class researchers, technology and of course the patients we serve. So we obviously have a great interest in this discussion. 

There is no question that the price of many cancer therapies can appear to be huge sums.   Pricing reflects the substantial investment--and risk taken--in research and development, but also the costs associated with delivering and administering these therapies at treatment centers.  (For our part, GSK is committed to ensuring that every cancer patient has access to our medicine through programs like Commitment to Access and others.)

The fact is cancer therapies have evolved from chemotherapy agents to highly targeted medicines that can selectively attack cancer cells.  The science is becoming more complex, more personalized, and with that often more expensive.   And despite these advanced, targeted therapies, response rates vary.  But even if a medicine can't completely eliminate cancer in all patients, shouldn't patients have the opportunity to fight cancer on their terms? 

This is a debate that extends well beyond cancer treatments to other areas of healthcare, like diagnostics, complex surgery and hospital care.  So...who should tell a patient, "no"?

I know these surveys come out all the time, but they are good reminders of where we stand in terms of our national health.  According to a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year and didn't decline anywhere.

Obesity is just one of our national health problems, but it is a major one.  We know that obesity can lead to many chronic diseases, and it is an important battle to win if we are to improve our nation's health and spend less on healthcare.  This breaks it down on a state-by-state basis--for obesity and other conditions.

(Image courtesy of Eastern Maine Medical Center)