Cost-effectiveness analysis of secukinumab in ankylosing spondylitis from the Canadian perspective

Aim: To assess the cost-effectiveness of interleukin (IL)-17A inhibitor secukinumab vs the currently licensed biologic therapies in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients from a Canadian healthcare system perspective.

Methods: A decision analytic model (semi-Markov) evaluated the cost-effectiveness of secukinumab 150?mg compared to certolizumab pegol, adalimumab, golimumab, etanercept and etanercept biosimilar, and infliximab and infliximab biosimilar in a biologic-naïve population, over 60 years of time horizon (lifetime). The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI 50) response rate was used to assess treatment response at week 12. Non-responders or patients discontinuing initial-line of biologic therapy were allowed to switch to subsequent-line biologics. Model input parameters (short-term and long-term changes in BASDAI and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index [BASFI], withdrawal rates, adverse events, costs, resource use, utilities, and disutilities) were obtained from clinical trials, published literature, and other Canadian sources. Benefits were expressed as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Cost and benefits were discounted with an annual discount rate of 1.5% for all treatments.

Results: In the biologic-naïve population, secukinumab 150?mg dominated all comparators, as patients treated with secukinumab 150?mg achieved the highest QALYs (16.46) at the lowest cost (CAD 533,010) over a lifetime horizon vs comparators. In the deterministic sensitivity analysis, results were most sensitive to changes in baseline BASFI non-responders, BASDAI 50 at 3 months and discount rates. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that secukinumab 150?mg demonstrated higher probability of achieving maximum net monetary benefit vs all comparators at various cost thresholds.

Conclusions: This analysis demonstrates that secukinumab 150?mg is the most cost-effective treatment option for biologic-naïve AS patients compared to certolizumab pegol, adalimumab, golimumab, etanercept and etanercept biosimilar, and infliximab and infliximab biosimilar for a lifetime horizon in Canada. Treatment with secukinumab translates into substantial benefits for patients and the healthcare system.     

电子政务对传统政务的革命性改造

20世纪80年代以来,以微电子、计算机和网络技术为代表的信息技术迅猛发展,成为经济发展的第一推动力,而经济基础决定上层建筑,所以科技的发展也推动了我国传统政务的改革.文章从宏观角度分析了电子政务对传统政务改造的内容,包括行政改造、管理方式改造和政府业务流程再造.然后,分析了电子政务对传统政务再造的意义,指出了随着电子政务的建立和完善,能够更好地促进行政的公开化、民主化、效率化,从而推动和谐社会的发展.     

Internal marketing practices,genuine emotions and their effects on hotel employees’ customer-oriented behaviors

Drawing on social exchange and conservation of resources theories, this study investigates genuine emotions as a mediator of the effects of internal marketing practices on customer-oriented behaviors. Data collected from customer-contact employees in the four- and five-star hotels in Antalya, one of the most popular tourism destinations in Turkey, were used to assess the aforesaid relationships. The results from structural equation modeling reveal that management’s simultaneous emphasis on internal communication, training, and internal market research as the indicators of internal marketing practices fosters customer-contact employees’ genuine emotions displayed in service encounters. Such internal marketing practices as well as genuine emotions boost employees’ customer-oriented behaviors, as manifested by enjoyment and needs. As hypothesized, genuine emotions partly mediate the effects of internal marketing practices on customer-oriented behaviors. Theoretical and management implications associated with the abovementioned results are discussed.     

The fate of the tropical forest: Carbon or cattle?

Small-scale afforestation/reforestation projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol will sequester atmospheric carbon and facilitate carbon trading but they face significant implementation challenges among the rural poor households and communities that are meant to adopt and benefit from them. Avoiding deforestation - a controversial carbon reduction option now under climate policy discussion - shows promise though for both forest conservation and poverty alleviation among indigenous forest peoples.     

The plurality of co-existing business models: Investigating the complexity of value drivers

Business models are key tools to provide a means of operationalizing theories about firm and industry level strategies, and to understand the nature of value drivers and the role of marketing in these processes. In this paper we assess empirical evidence for a plurality of co-existing business models within firms by developing a typology of business models in a single industry, the New Zealand Wine industry. We examine the co-existence of the types of models using in-depth analysis of seven case firms that vary in size and ownership. Our findings show how value creation is done in the context of interactions and they provide support for multiple business models that co-exist alongside each other with varying degrees of separation. Plurality better explains the complexity of value drivers and strategies for firms in this rapidly changing industry environment, where businesses are under extreme financial pressure. Our findings challenge assumptions that firms have (or should have) a single business model thus allowing a plurality of approaches within a single firm or industry that shifts the focus from implementing strategy A or B or C, to implementing strategy A and B and/or C.     

Cost-effectiveness analysis of secukinumab for the treatment of active psoriatic arthritis: a Canadian perspective

Objective: The study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of secukinumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that selectively neutralizes interleukin (IL)-17A, vs currently licensed biologic treatments in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) from a Canadian healthcare system perspective.

Methods: A decision analytic semi-Markov model evaluated the cost-effectiveness of secukinumab 150?mg and 300?mg compared to subcutaneous biologics adalimumab, certolizumab pegol, etanercept, golimumab, and ustekinumab, and intravenous biologics infliximab and infliximab biosimilar in biologic-naive and biologic-experienced patients over a lifetime horizon. The response to treatments was evaluated after 12 weeks by PsA Response Criteria (PsARC) response rates. Non-responders or patients discontinuing initial-line of biologic treatment were allowed to switch to subsequent-line biologics. Model input parameters (Psoriasis Area Severity Index [PASI], Health Assessment Questionnaire [HAQ], withdrawal rates, costs, and resource use) were collected from clinical trials, published literature, and other Canadian sources. Benefits were expressed as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). An annual discount rate of 5% was applied to costs and benefits. The robustness of the study findings were evaluated via sensitivity analyses.

Results: Biologic-naive patients treated with secukinumab achieved the highest number of QALYs (8.54) at the lowest cost (CAD 925,387) over a lifetime horizon vs all comparators. Secukinumab dominated all treatments, except for infliximab and its biosimilar, which achieved minimally more QALYs (8.58). However, infliximab and its biosimilar incurred more costs than secukinumab (infliximab: CAD 1,015,437; infliximab biosimilar: CAD 941,004), resulting in higher cost-effectiveness estimates relative to secukinumab. In the biologic-experienced population, secukinumab dominated all treatments as it generated more QALYs (8.89) at lower costs (CAD 954,692). Deterministic sensitivity analyses indicated the results were most sensitive to variation in PsARC response rates, change in HAQ, and utility values in both populations.

Conclusions: Secukinumab is either dominant or cost-effective vs all licensed biologics for the treatment of active PsA in biologic-naive and biologic-experienced populations in Canada.     

The effect of greenwashing on online consumer engagement: A comparative study in France,Germany, Turkey,and the United Kingdom

The effect of the Volkswagen emission crisis in 2015, the biggest greenwashing event in recent years, on the online consumer engagement of Facebook brand pages was investigated in France, Germany, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. These countries have been selected for the reason that Volkswagen sales and diesel‐engine cars and the use of social media are quite common. For 6 years in these four countries, the likes, comments, and shares made by consumers on the Facebook brand page of Volkswagen have been examined. The monthly dataset covers January 2012 to December 2017. The obtained data were analyzed with autoregressive–moving average models. Despite a globally positive approach to green products, countries' attitudes toward greenwashing have been significantly different. The findings showed that online consumer engagement was negative in the United Kingdom and Turkey and in a positive direction in Germany, whereas there was no change in France in the fourth quarter of 2015.     

Does Implied Volatility Pricing Follow the Tenets of Prospect Theory?

Abstract

Prospect theory and behavioral finance are gaining recognition as useful frameworks for the analysis of economic behaviors. Yet, behavioral finance is generally concerned with specific anomalies and individual behaviors and does not deal with market indices. To bridge this gap, the authors studied the changes in the value of implied volatility indices on several markets, relative to changes in the level of the corresponding equity indices with dividends reinvestment. We hypothesized that the relation should follow the psychological tenets of prospect theory. In accordance with this hypothesis, the authors found concavity in the gain area, convexity in the loss area, and evidence that market losses have more impact than gains on the pricing of implied volatility indices. These findings are observed in all the markets under consideration and are robust to the use of different functional forms. The parameters are in the range observed in previous laboratory studies but vary in different trading environments.     

揭开艺术品保险神秘面纱

正随着一部名为《富春山居图》的电影上映,艺术品保险,这一看似陌生和冷门的概念,开始以一种更直接的方式展现在公众面前。的确,艺术品"被贼惦记"已不再仅仅是好莱坞大片虚构的桥段,而开始成为每年必见报端的真实故事,故宫"碎瓷门"即凸显了中国艺术品市场保险工具的缺失。仅从常见的门类来看,书画、雕塑、古董、乐器等都可纳入艺术品的范畴,而种类庞大且损坏概率和修复难易大不相同的艺术品,使得艺术品保险出现了种种难题。或达3亿元的"大蛋糕"     

企业税收筹划及其风险控制研究

企业税收筹划属于企业理财的范畴,它是一项企业的财务管理在追求股东权益最大化的过程中减轻企业税收负担和增加消费者剩余的多方收益策略。它的运用在经济学上具有理论上的必然性。税收筹划是一项系统工程,其在给企业带来节税收益的同时也蕴涵着风险。企业应正视风险的存在,并采取相应的防范措施,以达到税收筹划的目标。