In this Assessment, you will use information from the case scenario below, along with the supporting documents provided, to demonstrate your ability to apply economic concepts to make recommendations for organizational decisions.

Case Scenario: Launching a Cancer Drug: Comanapracil

You are a pharmaceutical executive. You believe that your firm, Ropache, may have developed a promising new drug, Comanapracil, which seems to arrest the progress of breast cancer for 2 years with no significant side effects. Clinical trials suggest that the drug is 100% effective for 2 years. After 2 years, tumor growth resumes at the same rate. Therefore, Comanapracil can only be used for a 2-year course, after which it loses its effectiveness.

Professional Skills: Written Communication, Technology, and Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are assessed in this Competency

Your response to this Assessment should:

• Use the Assessment documents and video as required.
• Reflect the criteria provided in the Rubric.
• Adhere to the required assignment length.
• Use the APA course template.
• Download the Writing Checklist to review prior to submitting your Assessment.

This Assessment requires submission of two (2) files. Save your files as follows:

• Save Part I as FM005_PartI_firstinitial_lastname (for example, FM005_PartI_J_Smith).
• Save Part II as FM005_PartII_firstinitial_lastname (for example, FM005_PartII_J_Smith).

When you are ready to upload your completed Assessment, use the Assessment tab on the top navigation menu.

Instructions

Before submitting your Assessment, carefully review the rubric. This is the same rubric the assessor will use to evaluate your submission and it provides detailed criteria describing how to achieve or master the Competency. Many students find that understanding the requirements of the Assessment and the rubric criteria help them direct their focus and use their time most productively.

Rubric

Access the following to complete this Assessment:

• U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics
• Annual Costs of Cancer Care—Cancer Prevalence and Cost of Care Projections:
• Chemo Costs in U.S. Driven Higher by Shift to Hospital Outpatient Facilities
• GDP Per Capita
• Health Expenditure Per Capita
• Life Expectancy at Birth, Total (Years)
• Breast Cancer Drug – Comparison Chart

This assessment has two-parts.  Click each of the items below to complete this assessment.

Part I: Determine Pricing and Marketing Strategy for a New Drug

You have been tasked with developing a pricing and marketing strategy for Comanapracil. As you undertake this task, refer to the following resources mentioned above:

• U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics
• Annual Costs of Cancer Care—Cancer Prevalence and Cost of Care Projections
• Chemo Costs in U.S. Driven Higher by Shift to Hospital Outpatient Facilities
• Breast Cancer Drug—Comparison Chart

Create a 10- to 15-slide presentation, for the board of directors, to convince them that Comanapracil is a good investment. The presentation should address the following economic issues related to the marketing of Comanapracil:

• Develop and present estimates for the demand for Comanapracil and the price of the drug you think the market will bear. Be sure to include the number of customers for this drug.
• Describe where and to whom you will focus your marketing efforts. For each, detail why they are important.
• Explain how you will ensure that insurance companies pay for your drug.
• Explain the elasticity of demand for a drug like Comanapracil. What factors could potentially change the elasticity of demand?
• Assume you are able to obtain a patent, and are ready to go to market immediately. Explain the length of time for which your drug will receive patent protection, so that you are protected from competition prior to generics entering the market. Also, explain why patent protection exists in healthcare.

Part II: Compare International Healthcare Systems to Develop an International Market Entry Strategy

It is your job to develop a market analysis for four different healthcare markets with unique insurance systems. These four analyses will be contained within one 10- to 11-slide presentation to the board of directors. Your analysis will serve as a basis for deciding which country to market Comanapracil:

• Germany
• United States
• Ghana
• Brazil

Create your presentation as follows:

• The first slide will be an analysis of the relationship between spending on healthcare per capita and life expectancy in each country. Begin by referring to the World Bank charts “GDP Per Capita,” “Health Expenditures Per Capita,” and “Life Expectancy at Birth, Total (Years).” Using these, create a chart comparing the spending on healthcare per capita with the life expectancy in each country. Underneath the chart, on the same slide, address the question: Is there a relationship between life expectancy and healthcare spending?
• Next, based on what you have learned about the healthcare systems of Germany, the United States, Ghana, and Brazil, create four slides (one for each country) that summarize how each healthcare system is structured.
• Next, create another four slides (again one for each country). Each of these slides should summarize your findings from conducting a SWOT analysis for each country (that is, identify the economic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) associated with marketing Comanapracil in each country.
• Create one to two slides recommending which two countries are most attractive for marketing Comanapracil and why.
• Your board has shown a particular interest in the German market. In order to market your drug in Germany successfully, you must be approved by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWIG). Create two to three slides, addressed to the IQWIG, which argue for the importance of why your drug should be covered. Address the following issues:
  • How much of a gain in health outcomes will this drug provide?
  • Do other drugs provide similar effectiveness in treating this disease?
  • How many people will benefit from this drug? Explain why some people will benefit from the drug more than others.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. Together with its supporters, ACS is committed to helping people stay well and get well by finding cures and by fighting back.

Critical Thinking Questions:

1. Imagine that a family friend or colleague has just been diagnosed with cancer. Explain how the American Cancer Society might provide education and support. What ACS services would you recommend and why?
2. According to statistics published by the American Cancer Society, there will be an estimated 1.5 million new cancer cases diagnosed each year over the next decade. What factors contribute to the yearly incidence and mortality rates of various cancers in Americans? What changes in policy and practice are most likely to affect these figures over time
3. Select a research program from among those funded by the American Cancer Society. Describe the program and discuss what impact the research will have on the prevention or treatment of cancer.

 Compare and contrast Benign Positional Vertigo and Meniere’s Disease (see uploaded instructions and example )

Respond to the post bellow (positive comment), using one or more of the following approaches:

Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, and evidence.

Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.

Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own review of the literature in the Walden Library.

Validate an idea with your own experience and additional sources.

Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.

Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

                                                            Main post

Evidence based Practice is using information and practices obtained from prior research and preferences (Polit & Beck, 2017). When I think of evidenced based practice, I think of current practice utilizing certain practices and procedures because they have been tested and proven in the past. Evidenced based practice can be derived from literature, healthcare workers and patient experiences (Polit & Beck, 2017). There are many practices that we utilize around the hospital today that come from evidenced based practice. We use them so lightly daily and many times not understanding the meaning behind them and that others have tested them making it safe for us to use them. The one thing that came to mind was the use of off label drugs to treat various mental health issues. In Behavioral health it requires various combinations of drugs to gain the warranted effect (Narsa, 2018). When treating bipolar disorder and other mood instabilities there are the well-known medication like lithium, but evidence as presented itself showing that various seizure medicines can elicit the intended result (Narsa, 2018). In Psychiatry they utilize antiepileptic medications such as Depakote, Tegretol and Topamax to stabilize a patient with mood disorders (Demland, 2017). This is many times used in combination with the popular medications such as Lithium. Patients are many times very stunned to find out that they will be placed on such a medication. Many times, these medications will be introduced if the patient has a difficult time adjusting to the medication dosage changes or the intended effect is not seen (Demland, 2017). Many patients have testified to the benefit of these medicines. I think about how evidence-based practice comes in to play here because prior to this medication healthcare providers were only using antiepileptics for seizures only.

            Another medicine being used as an off-label drug is Lorazepam. Many in healthcare know this drug as an anxiolytic and never think about its other uses. In Behavioral health this drug is actually used for the opposite effect in patients who are catatonic. When one first thinks of prescribing a drug that is meant to calm a person down and many times sedate them to a patient that is not talking, moving or interacting is seems somewhat bizarre. How will this work? Will it make the patient even more disengaged and possibly sedated? These are all questions myself and many of my coworkers had. In this case, the physicians relied on evidenced based practice to assist them in making such a decision. They utilized such an unpopular treatment but it gained the intended effect. The catatonic patients respond well to this treatment. They can be seen becoming more engaged with peers and staff and taking part in their care. 

References

Demland, J. (2017). Use pattern and off-label use of atypical antipsychotics in bipolar disorder, 

1998-2002. American Health & Drug Benefits, 2(4), 184–191.

Nasra, K. (2018). An analysis of the high psychotropic off-label use in psychiatric disorders: 

The majority of psychiatric diagnoses have no approved drug. Asian 

Journal of Psychiatry, 2(1), 29–36.

Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for 

nursing practice (10th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

Question:

Discuss the various ways in which Florence Nightingale’s model of care can be applied in current nursing practice. Identify the most important factor of Nightingale’s theory that you utilize in your current practice.