Price difference as a predictor of the selection between brand name and generic statins in Japan

ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore the predictors of the selection between brand name drug (BR) and generic drug (GE) and to clarify the quantitative relationship about selection.MethodsWe identified “incident users” who dispensed statins between April 2008 and June 2011 in commercially databases consisted of dispensing claims databases (DCD) of out-of-hospital pharmacies and hospital claims databases (HCD) of in-house pharmacies in Japan. Predictors of the selection between BR and GE, including price difference (PD), the price of BR, their interaction and percent change of the price of GE relative to BR were explored by logistic regression using DCD and HCD separately.ResultsWe extracted records of 670 patients who have opportunity for selection both BR and GE. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that PD, the price of BR, interaction between them, and prescriber affiliation were factors significantly associated with the selection in the DCD; logit (p) = 9.735 − 0.251 × PD − 0.071 × the price of BR + 0.002 × PD × the price of BR − 1.816 × affiliation + 0.220 × gender − 0.008 × age + 0.038 × monthly medical fee. PD was inversely proportional to BR choice in DCD and lead to the opposite result in HCD. Numerical simulation of selection revealed that the quantitative relationships heavily depend on situations.ConclusionsPD and the price of BR are predictors of the selection between BR and GE interactively in out-of-hospital pharmacies, but not in in-house pharmacies of medical facilities. Results may support policies which increase the power of out-of-hospital pharmacies for selection.     

Cumyl-CBMICA: A new synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist containing a cyclobutyl methyl side chain

Since the beginning of the phenomenon of new psychoactive substances (NPS), synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) have been the largest and most prevalent subclass of these drugs in Europe. Many countries implemented specific legislation scheduling classes of substances defined on the basis of their chemical structure to reduce supply. We describe the identification and analytical characterization within the EU project ADEBAR plus of 1-(cyclobutylmethyl)-N-(2-phenylpropan-2-yl)-1H-indole-3-carboxamide which resulted in the formal notification through the Early Warning System of the European Monitoring Centre for Drug and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). This is the first identification of this new SCRA worldwide and the analytical data was distributed (inter-)nationally right after identification in 2019. First, the substance was isolated from the herbal material using preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Structure elucidation and analytical characterization were performed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), gas chromatography-solid state infrared spectroscopy (GC-sIR), liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-qToF-MS), Raman spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The new compound contains a cyclobutyl methyl group as a side chain and has not been described in any patent to our knowledge. Based on the semisystematic nomenclature of SCRAs, we propose Cumyl-CBMICA as a short name for the compound.     

佛手的传统应用

佛手作为传统的药食两用的中药,在我国栽培和应用历史悠久,不仅具有较高的药用、食疗价值,同时具有一定的观赏价值和经济价值。有关佛手的提取工艺、化学成分、质量标准、生物活性等现代研究报道较多,但对其本草考证的叙述较少,且古代本草著作中对佛手的相关记载模糊、品种来源混淆,曾出现药材混用现象。该文通过系统查阅中国古代本草、医药典籍和现代著作,对佛手的名称、原植物形态、产地、性味归经、功效及用法进行本草考证,以期正本清源。研究发现佛手在历代本草著作中常以"香橼""枸橼""柑橼""香圆"和"佛手柑"等名称出现,明清之后逐渐明确"香橼"即"枸橼",与"佛手(柑)"为不同品种,故将二者分列陈述。从古至今佛手的产地相对稳定,主产于闽、广、赣等长江以南地区。古今对于佛手性味归经和功能主治的认识基本相同,认为本品性温无毒,具有疏肝理气、和胃止痛、燥湿化痰等功效。关于佛手的炮制方法仅见"新瓦焙为末"和"蒸露",同时偶见"入药以陈久者良"的记载。该文为中药佛手的深入研究、资源开发及综合应用提供了理论依据。     

基于质量源于设计理念的仿制药一致性评价

目的：为我国仿制药一致性评价工作提出建议。方法：根据质量源于设计理念的基本原理,借鉴其在仿制药研发中的实践经验,对我国仿制药一致性评价存在的困难进行分析,提出建议。结果与结论：基于质量源于设计的理念,可以显著提高仿制药质量和申报材料的规范性,提升监管和审评效率。借助于质量源于设计的应用,在产品开发阶段就设计好稳定、高效的工艺流程,为临床生物等效性验证奠定坚实的基础,有利于实现仿制药与原研药质量的"一致性"和"临床替代性"。     

Medicinal properties of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)

Many tropical plants have interesting biological activities with potential therapeutic applications. Garcinia mangostana Linn. (GML) belongs to the family of Guttiferae and is named “the queen of fruits”. It is cultivated in the tropical rainforest of some Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and Thailand. People in these countries have used the pericarp (peel, rind, hull or ripe) of GML as a traditional medicine for the treatment of abdominal pain, diarrhea, dysentery, infected wound, suppuration, and chronic ulcer.     

口语化疾病名称向国际规范疾病术语集的映射研究

目的：研究患者口语化疾病名称到术语疾病名称的映射，解决在线口语化疾病名称难以有效利用的问题。方法：抓取“微医网”上患者口语中的疾病名，将PubMed摘要、百度搜索页摘要与百科内容作为语料，训练词向量，用余弦距离计算相似度，由2名具有临床知识和从业经验的编码人员对结果的准确性进行检验。结果：将最相似词条的参数TopN设置为>= 30的时候效果比较好，映射到大类和细类的准确性分别稳定在60%和70%左右。结论：利用词向量将口语化疾病名称映射到国际疾病术语集，具有较强的通用性和可行性，对于在线问诊、智能分诊甚至自动化编码具有明显的参考借鉴价值。     

浅谈《伤寒论》方名翻译

在中医药对外交流中,方剂学的翻译成为其中重要的组成部分,《伤寒论》方是方剂学的主要组成部分,它的翻译质量的提高将大大有助于中医药对外交流。本文通过对《伤寒论》方命名方法的研究探讨《伤寒论》方的翻译原则与方法。