MediMergent and FDA team up to tackle medication adherence

Healthcare data analytics company, MediMergent, and the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research reportedly gathered stakeholders from biopharma companies, pharmacies, health plans and regulatory agencies to propose strategies regarding medication non-adherence.

Approximately half of all Americans with chronic diseases who need lifelong medications do not stick to their prescribed regimen six months after they begin therapy, according to MediMergent. It’s a problem that results in up to $300 billion in added healthcare costs, the company said.

At the advisory board meeting, stakeholders discussed how to best design a program that could improve medication non-adherence and persistence. Programs aimed at boosting medication adherence will enroll patients with Type II diabetes, heart disease and cancer at pharmacies and doctors’ offices, MediMergent said.

“The lack of medication adherence and persistence is a public health crisis that should be remediable,” Dr. Norman Stockbridge, director of CDER’s division of cardiovascular and renal products, said in prepared remarks. “The goal of this advisory board is to focus on methodologies that can impact patients’ behaviors to ensure positive outcomes.”

“Issues leading to medication non-adherence are embedded in every hierarchical level of the ecological healthcare model. Making a difference must involve a collaboration of key stakeholders,” Dr. Fred Senatore, medical officer at CDER’s division of cardiovascular and renal products, added.

“This advisory board represents a unique opportunity to explore methods of improving medication adherence and persistence with life-saving treatments of largely asymptomatic conditions, such as hypertension and/or hyperlipidemia, where a majority of patients across all ages and demographics stop therapy within a year or so,” Dr. Robert Temple, deputy center director for clinical science at CDER, said.

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