Discussions on Fair Pricing of Medicines at the Swedish Health Economics Days
The Swedish Health Economics Association (SHEA) held its annual conference, offering valuable insights into key topics in health economics.
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Target Trial Emulation brings the logic of randomized trials into real-world data
Target Trial Emulation does not replace randomized controlled trials, but it applies their logic and rigor to real-world data analysis.
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Data Team is the Backbone of Medaffcon, Ensuring the Reliability of Research Results
The data team keeps Medaffcon's research projects on track and ensures that the research findings are scientifically sound. At the heart of the team’s work is the processing and analysis of patient data, particularly in Real-World Evidence (RWE) studies.
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Sweden’s TLV Updates Reimbursement Model for Rare Diseases
Sweden has introduced a new reimbursement model for orphan drugs, likely to increase treatment options for rare diseases. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies are now expected to provide local evidence.
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Medaffcon Presented Insights from Finnish Real-World Data at European Lung Cancer Congress
Medaffcon's European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC) poster showcased key findings from a recent study on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
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An Experienced Researcher seeks answers for their clients
Johan Rehnberg started working as a Scientific Advisor at Medaffcon’s Swedish office in August 2024. He is a dynamic researcher who values opportunities to learn new things and develop his skills – opportunities that Medaffcon provides.
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Medaffcon’s Machine Learning Algorithm Adapts to Various Research Needs
The algorithm was originally developed to extract smoking status from patient texts with purpose to analyze the effects of smoking on postoperative complications. Today, it is also being utilized in lung cancer research.
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Asthma and Antibiotic Use Increase the Risk of Revision Surgery in CRSwNP Patients
Asthma and antibiotic use are linked to a higher risk of revision surgery in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). This finding is based on a real-world evidence (RWE) study published in February.
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The Demand for Outsourced Experts is Growing in Pharmaceutical Companies
Medaffcon provides skilled temporary workforce solutions for its client companies. An outsourced expert is a flexible solution to address a company's short-term resourcing challenges.
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Medaffcon’s Market Access Team Prepares Nordic Projects under the Leadership of Simo Jääskeläinen
Medaffcon’s Market Access team welcomed a new leader in mid-November, as Simo Jääskeläinen returned to his familiar workplace after a six-year hiatus.
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Prostate Cancer Study Successfully Linked Deep Clinical Hospital Data with Broader Healthcare Data
A real-world evidence (RWE) study on the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) has provided new insights into the therapeutic strategies for mCRPC. The analysis was based on data from 2,500 patients treated in Finland.
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Lymphoma Project by the University of Eastern Finland and Medaffcon Generates Over Ten Publications
The lymphoma research project has proven to be an exceptionally versatile source of new knowledge. The project includes at least two doctoral researchers, and its results are expected to generate well over ten scientific articles.
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Extensive Finnish Study Offers New Insights into Infection Risk and Mortality in Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma significantly increases the risk of infections. A recent real-world evidence (RWE) study revealed that multiple myeloma (MM) patients experience more infections compared to healthy controls, even prior to diagnosis. Infections, both before and after diagnosis, were associated with an increased mortality.
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5th Nordic RWE and AI conference – 28-29 January 2025, Helsinki
5th Nordic RWE and AI conference is organized by University of Helsinki and Åbo Akademi University. Register to the event here!
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RWE Study: Chronic Kidney Disease often goes undiagnosed
Despite its high-risk nature and availability of kidney treatments, chronic kidney disease (CKD) often goes undiagnosed. This especially concerns patients without type 2 diabetes (T2D), who represent the majority of CKD patients. This finding comes from a recent registry study published in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (NDT).
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AI Brings New Opportunities to RWE Research – Its Use in Health Data Analysis is Limited
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming research and working life across various industries. But what is its significance in health data analysis and real-world evidence (RWE) research? Medaffcon’s experts, Juhani Aakko and Lisse-Lotte Hermansson, share their perspectives on AI in their work.
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Insights from ISPOR Europe: Patients to Be Included in RWE Studies
Patient-centricity was one of the key themes at ISPOR Europe in Barcelona this November. Participants also discussed topics such as the use of Real-World Evidence (RWE) in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and the significance of artificial intelligence. In this article, Medaffcon's ISPOR attendees share the most important themes from this year's event.
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Payers Expect Clearer Demonstration of Health Technology Benefits
Sweden and Finland are leaders in developing and applying health technology and provide ideal environments for conducting Health Technology Assessments (HTA) for medical devices.
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Medaffcon Brings RWE from the Nordic Markets for Global Use
Medaffcon's operations in Sweden are well-established and growing, offering pharmaceutical companies RWE studies and Market Access services delivered by Data Scientists, Market Access experts, and RWE specialists working together.
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Prognosis for Multiple Myeloma has Improved, but Prevalence is Increasing
The prognosis for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) has improved as treatments have advanced, but the disease remains incurable. The prevalence of the disease is increasing in Finland as the population gets older. This is evident from a recently published nationwide retrospective study based on real-world evidence (RWE).
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New Diabetes Medications Were Actively Adopted Between 2012–2019 – The Results Are Promising
The adoption of new diabetes medications in Finland was active between 2012 and 2019, according to an RWE (Real World Evidence) study published in May 2024. The study was conducted by Medaffcon in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Sanofi.
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Medaffcon is Preparing to Conduct RWE Studies in Neurology and Psychiatry
In the coming years, breakthroughs in neurological and psychiatric drug research are expected to change treatment practices and significantly improve patients’ quality of life.
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Medaffcon’s scientific expert’s day includes a variety of activities tailored to the needs of the pharmaceutical industry
Medaffcon experts are versatile professionals who adapt to customer needs. In this article, one of them, Liisa Ukkola-Vuoti, a senior scientific advisor at Medaffcon, describes her work over two weeks. Liisa is also one of the writers for the Health Data Site by Medaffcon.
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New RWE Study Indicates Poor Prognosis for NSCLC Patients Despite Targeted Therapies
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Finland, with a particularly poor prognosis for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It is often diagnosed at an advanced stage when treatment options are limited. A recently published retrospective registry-based real-world evidence (RWE) study on KRAS-mutated NSCLC patients in Finland addressed this issue.
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Medaffcon’s Patient Dynamics Tool Helps Focus and Find the Right Actions
Are you employed in the pharmaceutical industry and seeking insights into your product's position within the Finnish market? Then Patient Dynamics is the ideal tool for you. Developed by Medaffcon, Patient Dynamics caters to the needs of pharmaceutical companies by providing precise information for sales and marketing decision-making.
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EHDS makes Finland an even more attractive place for RWE research
Finland will become an even more attractive place for conducting RWE (real-world evidence) research when it becomes a seamless part of the European Health Data Space (EHDS). Thus, health data can be used more efficiently across the European Union (EU), and datasets can be combined on an EU-wide basis.
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The OMOP Data Model Helps Standardize Healthcare Data
A key challenge in using real-world healthcare data (RWD) is how to standardize data across different healthcare providers and countries.
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The Real-World Data (RWD) from the HUS Data Lake Provides Clinicians with Valuable Information about Treatment Outcomes
Hospital data lakes offer clinicians diverse real-world data (RWD) that supports their work. Dr. Heikki Ekroos, Chief Physician of Pulmonary Diseases at Helsinki University Hospital (HUS) Porvoo Hospital, presented real-world evidence (RWE) studies that were based on HUS data lakes data at Medaffcon’s EMMA client event.
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Sweden is a Rich Source of Real-World Evidence (RWE) and Health Data – Together with Finland, it Offers a Population of 15 Million
Real-world data (RWD) created in Finnish healthcare is comprehensive and high-quality. Sweden, another Scandinavian country, also offers high-quality healthcare data for real-world evidence generation.
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Renewable drug therapy challenges the current complex drug evaluation system
“Renewable drug therapy challenges the current complex drug evaluation system,” states Lauri Pelkonen, a leading expert at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM). For this reason, the evaluation activity is being reformed to better respond to changes in the operating environment.
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The EU introduces changes to the assessment of medicines: EU HTA application in evaluations will gradually start next year
The EU introduces changes to the assessment of medicines: EU HTA application in evaluations will gradually start next year
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Finland: An Ideal Environment for the Pharmaceutical Industry’s Real-World Evidence (RWE) Studies
Pharmaceutical companies should consider Finland when evaluating locations for Real-World Evidence (RWE) studies. The country boasts numerous strengths that make it an outstanding choice for real-world data-based (RWD) research. “Finland’s strong tradition and extensive experience in utilizing healthcare registries for research make it unique,” says Dr. Riikka Mattila, Scientific Advisor at Medaffcon.
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Heikki Koski Appointed as CEO of Medaffcon Oy
Heikki Koski, currently the Service Business and Development Director at Tamro, has been appointed as the CEO of Medaffcon Oy, effective from April 1, 2024. Medaffcon is a subsidiary of Tamro Oyj. The current CEO of Medaffcon, Jarmo Hahl, will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the company's future in his new position leading the consulting business.
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Medaffcon has in-depth Understanding of the Needs of the Pharmaceutical Industry
Selecting the right interactions is a key factor for success. Therefore, the client should also consider how well the partner understands the pharmaceutical industry's needs. When the partner has extensive hands-on experience from the industry, these irreplaceable insights enable the partner to guide the project at different strategic levels, ensuring that the client’s various needs can be identified and met.
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The OMOP Common Data Model facilitates the utilization of healthcare data – Medaffcon was involved in a Finnish OMOP pilot study
In healthcare, there is a vast amount of data being generated and processed. Sometimes, its utilization is cumbersome because the data is scattered, and its analysis requires a lot of preprocessing.
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Real-World Evidence (RWE) Influences Treatment Practices – Developing the Current Care Guidelines for Heart Failure
My list of publications includes over 20 peer-reviewed scientific articles. One of them is a special one because the Finnish Current Care Guidelines mention it for heart failure. This blog discusses the impact of research by Medaffcon on treatment practices.
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New RWE study indicates significant potential for improvement in treating adults with Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS-IF)
A study published in January 2024 in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology has revealed that the treatment of adults with Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS-IF) clearly has significant room for improvement.
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Setting up a Nordic RWE study in Sweden – fast access to patients’ numbers and distribution across Sweden
Sweden's publicly funded healthcare system and universal access to specialized health care make the data derived from Sweden broadly generalizable, covering diverse populations including different ethnic backgrounds.
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Finnish hospital data lakes can be adapted to analysis of complex treatment patterns, outcomes and healthcare burden in multiple myeloma
Our latest multiple myeloma publication describes how complex multiple myeloma treatment patterns were assembled from data available in the Helsinki University Hospital data lake, Finland, how the treatments have changed in 2013–2019, and what the estimated treatment costs are in multiple myeloma.The study published online in October 2023 was carried out by the experts at Medaffcon Oy, Sanofi Oy, and Helsinki University Hospital, Finland.
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The introduction of new medications has resulted in a change in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma in Southwest Finland
Utilising the data lake of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland (TYKS), Medaffcon, Pfizer and TYKS have examined the clinical adoption of new medications for advanced renal cell carcinoma and the utility of data extracted without extensive manual extraction.
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Manual extraction gathered information on the drug treatment for ulcerative colitis
Hospital data lakes are a central source of information in Medaffcon's studies, and often, data retrieval can be automated. However, what happens when more complex matters need to be extracted from the databases? In such cases, manual extraction is used, says Medaffcon's Scientific Advisor, Riikka Mattila
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Leveraging Swedish Real-World Health Data for Research and Development
Swedish real-world health data, a recent addition to the in-house capabilities of Medaffcon, offer unique possibilities for measuring disease burdens and determinants, the effects of different exposures, and the outcomes of various health conditions in a population of almost 10.5 million people.
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This Christmas, Medaffcon is participating in Mieli Ry’s charity initiative aimed at improving the well-being of children and young people
This Christmas, Medaffcon is participating in Mieli Ry's charity initiative aimed at improving the well-being of children and young people
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Team Medaffcon took part in ISPOR Europe 2023
The ISPOR Europe conference in 2023, held in Copenhagen, gathered a record number of participants. The Bella Center hosted HEOR professionals eager to learn about the latest trends in their field. The use of real world evidence (RWE) in health technology assessment (HTA) and regulatory evidence generation played a crucial role in the conference program, alongside valuable interpersonal interactions which were also in an important part of the event.
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Matching techniques go beyond virtual control arms, reminds senior data scientist at Medaffcon
Real-world data (RWD) can, however, be utilised also in a variety of non-clinical medical and pharmaceutical studies to compare aspects such as treatment outcomes and resource utilisation between different geographies and treatment options, reminds Samuli Tuominen, senior data scientist at Medaffcon.