March 4th, 2011 by admin

The Seriousness of Life: Critical Illness Cover

It seems that there comes a point in life when you realise people aren’t invincible anymore. Gone are the days of being a teenager when you believed that nothing could take your life or cost you copious amounts of money. You reach a certain age when you realise you have responsibilities and family to take care of. Life has suddenly become a whole lot more serious. Thoughts begin to flow through your head about how your family will survive if anything ever happens to you or your partner’s income due to unforeseen circumstances such as a critical illness. So you decide you need to purchase some ‘Peace of mind’ and you opt for Critical illness cover.

Primarily, critical illness cover is used to provide financial assistance to an individual should they be diagnosed with an illness that is considered critical. This means that if anyone in your immediate family is diagnosed with life threatening diseases listed on the website https://www.quotelifecover.com, you can avoid financial hardship by being provided with a lump sum to pay the mortgage or retain the standard of living.

In the UK, one in nine women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and one in 68 will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in their lifetime according to www.breastcancer.org, but with great improvements in modern medicine, critical illness cover can now be used to fund expensive treatments and time needed for recovery.

Due to the likelihood of developing cancer, for example, far outweighs the chances of dying, critical life cover can be 3 or 4 times more expensive than life cover. Generally, combining life insurance and critical illness cover will usually only add a small monthly premium increase and will work out much cheaper than separate premiums.

You can now access websites such as Quote Life Cover to obtain quotes and advice from leading providers of Critical Life Cover. The circumstances of each individual will influence the amount of cover required. Basically, you need to work out how much it would cost if you are diagnosed with a critical illness and the impact on your family.

Also, another great way to turn your pension into a steady flow of income for the rest of your life is to consider the aquisition of a pension annuity policy.

Remember to always consult your doctor before taking any medical advice.

March 4th, 2011 by admin

US Government calls for stricter regulation of foreign clinical trials

A troubled US Department of Health and Human Services issued a report in 2010 highlighting their concern about a lack of monitoring and inspections of foreign clinical trials carried out by the Food and Drug Administration.

According to the report between 40%-65% of clinical trials investigating FDA-regulated products are now done outside the USA, mostly to reduce costs.

The American government now worries about those clinical trials done in developing countries. According to the report there is not much certainty about the ability of local regulatory bodies and institutional review boards to adequately monitor trials; protect subjects’ rights and ensure that data integrity is not compromised.

The US Department of Health and Human Services is also worried that results obtained from a clinical trial in a developing country might not be “completely applicable to the US population.”

Their report analysed data from 2008 when 80% of approved drugs and biologics contained data from foreign clinical trials. According to the report, the FDA inspected 1.9% of domestic trial sites but only 0.7% of foreign sites.

The HHS has recommended that the FDA must require standardised electronic clinical trial data and also create an internal database. They also want the FDA to monitor trends in foreign clinical trials not conducted under Investigational New Drug Applications “and, if necessary, take steps to encourage sponsors to file INDs,” according to their statement.

The US government also wants the FDA to conclude agreements with foreign regulatory bodies that will allow for trials to be inspected and risk management.

The FDA has agreed to implement these recommendations and address the concerns highlighted in the report.

In a separate statement the senior vice president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Ken Johnson said it was important to remember that “the same strict regulatory standards apply to foreign trials as trials conducted domestically … Whether the clinical research occurs in the USA or outside its borders, our member companies must adhere to Good Clinical Practice guidelines.”

He said they made sure that foreign regulatory bodies are up to speed with “ethics oversight by outside review boards, and the need to maintain the highest standards for data quality.”

The Association of Clinical Research Organisations in turn said they were supportive of the US government’s efforts to ensure better oversight in clinical trials conducted in developing countries but said it should not stop the globalisation of clinical trials.

“We promote efforts to strengthen the globalisation of the clinical research enterprise in order to speed the development of life-saving medicines and treatments for patients who need them.”

ACRO pointed out that according to a study done in July last year, the time it takes to develop a new, and possibly life saving drug, can be reduced by half by globalising trials.