A long-standing feud between drug companies and the German institute that evaluates the effectiveness of treatments medical could cost the institute director of his work. Although the post is supposed to be apolitical, members of the new German coalition government called for Peter Sawicki, founding director of the Institute for Quality and efficiency of health care (known by its German acronym IQWiG pronounced ICK-vig), be replaced with someone who is more favorable to the pharmaceutical industry. The Board of Directors of the Institute of Directors should decide on 20 January whether Sawicki, a researcher and expert clinical diabetes, will be replaced when his contract runs later this year.
Sawicki Supporters say the move would endanger the reputation of the Institute for the impartial and rigorous science, and earlier this month a petition signed by 0 clinical doctors and researchers have asked the minister Health and advice on keeping Sawicki. Gerd Antes, director of the German Cochrane Centre in Freiburg, a nonprofit organization that analyzes the effects of health care, said that replacing Sawicki significantly undermine IQWiG and its work. Antes considers anti-Sawicki push "part of the political game to soften and weaken rigorous procedures for new drugs and medical devices in Germany."
IQWiG, based in Cologne, was launched in 04 as part of a reform of the German health care system. With a function similar to that of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK, IQWiG reports inform the panel that decides which treatments are covered by insurance schemes funded from Germany. Sawicki clashed with pharmaceutical companies on access to their unpublished studies and reports of the Institute, as one who has found "no evidence" that a new product has exceeded the oldest synthetic human insulin. Industry groups, especially the German organization of pharmaceutical companies focused on research, VFA, have been very critical of IQWiG, saying, for example, IQWiG is too selective in the choice of studies to include in its assessments.
Big pharma attacks even came from abroad. In March 09, the Research and Manufacturers of America Pharmaceutical petitioned the Obama administration to put Germany on a "priority watch list" trade and intellectual property mainly because of the influence of IQWiG on the market German drug. the petition complained that the Institute "insufficiently taken into account the value of innovative pharmaceuticals," among other complaints. the Obama administration has refused to put Germany on its watch list.
Sawicki acknowledges that it is difficult for new drugs or techniques to make the grade "We introduced a method based on relevant patient outcomes. morbidity, mortality and quality of life," says -it while avoiding what he calls "invalid surrogate mothers," such as cholesterol levels or bone density. "You can reduce cholesterol and increased mortality. You can reduce blood pressure and increase heart failure," he said. Second, he said, "we are looking for . progress "rather than efficiency, which means that innovation is not compared with placebo, but with the current standard of care" We try to answer the question: "is it better" Sawicki said he has some sympathy for drug manufacturers: "It is very difficult to produce something better than what we already had. "
industry complaints about the institute found some support among German politicians. In the October agreement forming new coalition government in Germany, the parties stated their intention to examine IQWiG methods in order to "increase the acceptance of the findings of the institute among patients, caregivers and producers." at the end of November, the German media reported that a white Paper distributed among health policy makers have called for replacing Sawicki and for the institute to be more favorable to industry. Sawicki is also facing an ethics investigation, which he said he asked after a new CFO has found irregularities in expense accounts. News survey, implying have several hundred euros in travel expenses ( see update below ) fled when the white paper was distributed.
the work of the Institute is bound to be controversial, said Antes. Similar research in the US has also drawn criticism. Although the term Sawicki was not flawless, Antes said, he was instrumental in obtaining the institute and running. "He never gives. It has a very strong spine. In 5 years, they have established an institute with a very good international reputation."
UPDATE
Survey Details ethics surrounding spending Sawicki was disclosed in view of Wednesday's decision. the investigators found that Sawicki booked business class tickets for domestic flights and incorrectly claimed over € 1,100 worth of private costs, the most it has since repaid. According to Handelsblatt (in German), which obtained a copy of the confidential report, Sawicki also rented an Audi Q7 in 06 and Audi Q5 in 09 that official cars, although it has agreed to use his private car for business and receive compensation. Handelsblatt reports that investigators found, however, that Sawicki had the tacit approval of the lease, in part to compensate a pay cut that Sawicki known when he took the position of director.
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