Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2024-02-28"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Policy measures and instruments used in European countries to increase biosimilar uptake: a systematic reviewPublication . Machado, Sara ; Cruz, Agostinho; Ferreira, Pedro Lopes ; Morais, Carminda ; Pimenta, RuiWhile biosimilar medicines can contribute to the sustainability of healthcare systems, their utilization rate varies across European countries. This study aims to identify and systematize policy measures and instruments used in European countries to increase biosimilar market share. A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA 2020 recommendations. Medline-PubMed, Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases were searched using inclusion criteria that required full articles published in English between January 2006 and November 2023. Reviews, letters, reports, editorials and comments or opinion articles were excluded from this study. Of the 1,137 articles, only 13 met the eligibility criteria for analysis, which covered a total of 28 European countries. Pricing regulation measures were found in 27 of these countries with tendering, price-linkage and internal reference price being the most used. Tendering was used by 27 countries to procure biosimilars in inpatient setting. Prescribing guidelines and recommendations were the widely used instrument. Some European countries adopted physician incentives, quotas, and prescription by international non-proprietary name. Automatic substitution was not commonly recommended or applied. Interchangeability and switching will become increasingly relevant issues. It is important that the positive results from some countries serve as an example for the future of these medicines in the European market.
- A cyclam salt as an antifungal agent: Interference with Candida spp. and Cryptococcus neoformans mechanisms of virulencePublication . Cerqueira, Fátima; Medeiros, Rui; Lopes, Inês; Campos, Carla; Ferraz, Maria Pia; Silva, Fernando; Alves, Luís G.; Pinto, EugéniaThe importance of fungal infections, particularly those caused by yeasts, is increasing among the medical community. Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans are amongst the high-priority fungal species identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and are considered in the critical group, while Candida krusei is included in the medium-priority group. The cyclam salt H4[H2(4-CF3PhCH2)2Cyclam]Cl4 proved to be active against the growth of these three yeasts, and the aim of this work was to verify its interference with their virulence mechanisms, whether shared or unique. H4[H2(4-CF3PhCH2)2Cyclam]Cl4 significantly inhibited biofilm production and catalase activity, being able to interfere with C. albicans dimorphic transition and C. neoformans melanin production. At the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values, H4[H2(4-CF3PhCH2)2Cyclam]Cl4 had no antioxidant effect, as determined by the DPPH method. When using the RAW264.7 macrophage cell line, H4[H2(4-CF3PhCH2)2Cyclam]Cl4 reduced nitric oxide (NO) detection (the Griess reaction), but this effect was associated with a significant toxic effect on the cells.