Simons Observatory: characterizing the Large Aperture Telescope Receiver with radio holography

We present near-field radio holography measurements of the Simons Observatory Large Aperture Telescope Receiver optics. These measurements demonstrate that radio holography of complex millimeter-wave optical systems comprising cryogenic lenses, filters, and feed horns can provide detailed characterization of wave propagation before deployment. We used the measured amplitude and phase, at 4 K, of the receiver near-field beam pattern to predict two key performance parameters: 1) the amount of scattered light that will spill past the telescope to 300 K and 2) the beam pattern expected from the receiver when fielded on the telescope. These cryogenic measurements informed the removal of a filter, which led to improved optical efficiency and reduced sidelobes at the exit of the receiver. Holography measurements of this system suggest that the spilled power past the telescope mirrors will be less than 1%, and the main beam with its near sidelobes are consistent with the nominal telescope design. This is the first time such parameters have been confirmed in the lab prior to deployment of a new receiver. This approach is broadly applicable to millimeter and submillimeter instruments.

How excluding some benefits from value assessment of new drugs impacts innovation

Payers often assess the benefits of new drugs relative to costs for reimbursement purposes, but they frequently exclude some drugs' option-related benefits, reducing their reimbursement chances, and making them less attractive R&D investments. We develop and test a real options model of R&D investment that shows that excluding option-related benefits heightens drug developers' incentives to avoid high-risk (volatile) R&D investments and instead encourages them to focus on "safer" (positively skewed) investments. Our model and empirical results could partly explain the decline in the number of risky new molecular entities.

A large scale prospective clinical and psychometric validation of the EORTC colorectal (QLQ-CR29) module in Polish patients with colorectal cancer

The purpose of our study was to assess if the Polish translation of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Colorectal Cancer (CRC)-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-CR29) is an acceptable and psychometrically valid measure to collect quality of life (QoL) data in Polish patients with CRC for use in clinical trials and clinical practice. A total of 150 patients undergoing treatment for CRC were prospectively enrolled in the study. Psychometric assessment of the translated QLQ-CR29 structure, reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and clinical validity was subsequently performed. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.70-0.89, indicating acceptable internal consistency. For test-retest reliability, the ICCs for each item ranged from 0.59-0.91, with exceptions for urinary incontinence and dysuria, indicating good to excellent reproducibility. In multi-trait scaling analyses, the criterion for item convergent and divergent validity was satisfied. The correlations between the EORTC QLQ-CR29 and QLQ-C30 scales were mostly low (r < .40), with a few items demonstrating higher correlations. The known group comparisons analyses demonstrated the ability of the questionnaire to distinguish between patients' differing age, stoma status, and treatment intent. The Polish translation of the QLQ-CR29 is a psychometrically reliable and valid tool. The results of this study are congruent with that of EORTC validation.

Financial effects of pharmaceutical price regulation on R&D spending by EU versus US firms

EU countries closely regulate pharmaceutical prices, whereas the US does not. This paper shows how price constraints affect the profitability, stock returns and R&D spending of EU and US firms. Compared with EU firms, US firms are more profitable, earn higher stock returns and spend more on R&D. We tested the relationship between price regulation and R&D spending, and estimated the costs of tight EU price regulation. Although results show that EU consumers enjoyed much lower pharmaceutical price inflation, we estimated that price controls cost EU firms 46 fewer new medicines and 1680 fewer research jobs during our 19-year sample period. Had the US used controls similar to those used in the EU, we estimate it would have led to 117 fewer new medicines and 4368 fewer research jobs in the US.

Economic evaluation and cost-effectiveness thresholds: signals to firms and implications for R & D investment and innovation

In this article we describe how reimbursement cost-effectiveness thresholds, per unit of health benefit, whether set explicitly or observed implicitly via historical reimbursement decisions, serve as a signal to firms about the commercial viability of their R&D projects (including candidate products for in-licensing). Traditional finance methods for R&D project valuations, such as net present value analyses (NPV), incorporate information from these payer reimbursement signals to help determine which R&D projects should be continued and which should be terminated (in the case of the latter because they yield an NPV < 0). Because the influence these signals have for firm R&D investment decisions is so significant, we argue that it is important for reimbursement thresholds to reflect the economic value of the unit of health benefit being considered for reimbursement. Thresholds set too low (below the economic value of the health benefit) will result in R&D investment levels that are too low relative to the economic value of R&D (on the margin). Similarly, thresholds set too high (above the economic value of the health benefit) will result in inefficiently high levels of R&D spending. The US in particular, which represents approximately half of the global pharmaceutical market (based on sales), and which seems poised to begin undertaking cost effectiveness in a systematic way, needs to exert caution in setting policies that explicitly or implicitly establish cost-effectiveness reimbursement thresholds for healthcare products and technologies, such as pharmaceuticals.

Financial risk of the biotech industry versus the pharmaceutical industry

The biotech industry now accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total R&D spending on new medicines. However, compared with the pharmaceutical industry, the biotech industry is financially fragile. This article illustrates the financial fragility of the biotech and pharmaceutical industries in the US and the implications of this fragility for the effects that government regulation could have on biotech firms. Graphical analysis and statistical tests were used to show how the biotech industry differs from the pharmaceutical industry. The two industries' characteristics were measured and compared, along with various measures of firms' financial risk and sensitivity to government regulation. Data from firms' financial statements provided accounting-based measures and firms' stock returns applied to a multifactor asset pricing model provided financial market measures. The biotech industry was by far the most research-intensive industry in the US, averaging 38% R&D intensity (ratio of R&D spending to total firm assets) over the past 25 years, compared with an average of 25% for the pharmaceutical industry and 3% for all other industries. Biotech firms exhibited lower and more volatile profits and higher market-related and size-related risk, and they suffered more negative stock returns in response to threatened government price regulation. Biotech firms' financial risks increase their costs of capital and make them more sensitive to government regulations that affect their financial prospects. As biotech products grow to represent a larger share of new medicines, general stock market conditions and government regulations could have a greater impact on the level of innovation of new medicines.

Measuring US pharmaceutical industry R&D spending

Government policy debates on pharmaceutical pricing often turn on whether higher drug prices fund greater company-financed R&D spending. In the US, debate breaks down because each side uses a different measure of R&D spending, and the measures are far apart. Government agencies, Congress and consumer groups use government-generated survey data from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the pharmaceutical industry uses survey data from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). This issue is also relevant to academic work because some studies use NSF data, and others use PhRMA data. This article illustrates the pros and cons of these survey data series, and offers a more reliable, comprehensive and replicable alternative series, based on Compustat data.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of a series of diketopiperazine inhibitors of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1

We have synthesized and evaluated a series of diketopiperazine-based inhibitors of PAI-1. These studies resulted in the identification of 34 which inhibited PAI-1 in vitro with an IC(50)=0.2 microM. The synthesis and SAR of these compounds are described.

Evidence for an interleukin-1 converting enzyme (ICE)-like activity distinct from ICE and responsible for ICE and CPP32 cleavage during apoptosis

IL-1beta converting enzyme (ICE) and ICE-related proteases (IRPs) have been suggested to play a central role in apoptosis. We report the use of peptidic ICE inhibitors to reassess the role of this enzyme in the apoptosis induced by Fas or TNFalpha receptor ligation in Jurkat cells, U937 cells or monocytes. Our results show that inhibition of IL-1beta processing can be dissociated from inhibition of apoptosis. Indeed, two out of three com-pounds active on ICE are not inhibitory for apoptosis. This shows that ICE is not required for progression in the apoptotic pathway, but that one or several IRPs are necessary. In addition, Western blot analysis of cell lysates shows that both ICE and CPP32 precursors disappear rapidly after apoptosis induction, while ICH-1L precursor remains intact. Concomitant appearance of cleavage products can be visualized for CPP32, but not for ICE, suggesting that the former is proteolytically activated. In addition, this precursor cleavage can be blocked by an ICE inhibitor active on apoptosis. Altogether, our data support the hypothesis that one or several IRPs are necessary for apoptosis and are responsible for ICE and CPP32 cleavage during this process.

Indications for hysterectomy: variation within and across hospitals

This study investigates the factors associated with the probability of finding specific clinical indicators (benign or malignant tumor, cancer in situ, fibroid, abscess/empyema, or positive culture of salpinx, fallopian tube, fetus, or uterus) that validate necessity for hysterectomy. Data for the 4,660 cases in the study come from 42 Pennsylvania hospitals. The probability that validating indicators were present varied significantly at the hospital level but not at the level of individual surgeons within hospital, suggesting that physicians in different hospitals adopted different practice styles. The results at the hospital level indicate that higher hysterectomy volume increased the probability of validating findings, whereas presence of an OB/GYN program was associated with lower probability of validating findings. The policy and management implications of these results are discussed.