ISPOR 2025: Exploring sessions on health economics

At the ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 2025 conference (May 13–16, Montreal, Canada), a series of sessions will spotlight the evolving intersections of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) with finance, health equity, workforce development, and methodological innovation. From addressing the costs of inequality and debating discount rates to exploring the role of HEOR in investment decisions and healthcare provider strategy, these sessions reflect the growing breadth and relevance of the field.

Selected sessions

How Should Health Economists and Health Policymakers Measure the Costs of Inequality?

Date and time: May 14, 10:15am – 11:15am
Moderator: Darius Lakdawalla (University of Southern California)
Speakers: Ian J Davis (University of Southern California), Jeroen Jansen (PRECISIONheor and University of California), Charles Phelps (University of Rochester)

This Issue Panel will explore how health economists are addressing the challenge of incorporating equity into traditional cost-effectiveness analysis. Speakers will examine the tradeoffs between utilitarian approaches and fairness, highlighting emerging methods such as distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA), rank-dependent welfare functions, and generalized risk-adjusted cost-effectiveness (GRACE).

HEOR Meets Investing—Why Are Banks and VCs Collaborating With Health Economists?

Date and time: May 14, 1:45pm – 2:45pm
Moderator: Meng Li (Tufts Medical Center, The Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health)
Speakers William Canestaro (Washington Research Foundation), Richard Xie (RA Capital Management), Melanie D Whittington (Leerink Center for Pharmacoeconomics)

Bridging health economics and finance, this panel explores how HEOR methods are increasingly informing investment decisions in the life sciences. Panelists from venture capital and later-stage investment will share real-world applications of HEOR in evaluating opportunities, supporting policy, and guiding value communication. The discussion will highlight emerging synergies between HEOR and financial sectors, offering insights for professionals navigating this evolving intersection.

Climbing the HEOR Career Ladder: Strategies for Success in an Era of Change

Date and time: May 14, 3:15pm – 4:15pm
Moderator: Laura Pizzi (ISPOR)
Speakers: Stephanie Earnshaw (RTI Health Solutions), Christopher M Blanchette (Novo Nordisk), David Thompson (Rubidoux Research LLC)

As HEOR becomes more integrated across biopharma and consultancy functions, career advancement now demands more than technical expertise. This forum will explore how expectations for HEOR professionals are evolving, including the need for cross-functional collaboration, strategic thinking, and communication skills. Attendees will gain insights into emerging career paths and how ISPOR’s Competency Framework and learning programs can support professional development in this changing landscape.

How to Address Health Equity Gaps With HEOR and Policy Development in Asia Pacific

Date and time: May 14, 3:15pm – 4:15pm
Moderator: Viva Ma (Becton Dickinson)
Speakers: Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk (University of Utah), Stacey Kowal (Genentech), Xiaoning He (Tianjin University)

Focusing on Asia Pacific, this session examines how HEOR can support evidence-informed policies to reduce health equity gaps in universal healthcare systems. Panelists will discuss methods for integrating equity into cost-effectiveness analysis and share international case studies where HEOR contributed to policy improvements. Attendees should gain practical insights into applying health equity metrics to guide more inclusive, regionally relevant healthcare decision-making.

Challenges in the Implementation of Generalized Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (GCEA): Debating a Path Forward

Date and time: May 14, 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Moderator: Meng Li (Tufts Medical Center, The Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health)
Speakers: Jason Shafrin (FTI Consulting), Darius Lakdawalla (University of Southern California), Melanie D Whittington (Leerink Center for Pharmacoeconomics)

A newly published user guide on generalized cost-effectiveness analysis (GCEA) offers methods to quantify broader societal value elements in HTA, but debate continues around their feasibility, fairness, and policy implications. This session will explore how GCEA could reshape US pricing and coverage decisions, weighing its potential benefits against challenges like double counting, threshold ambiguity, and implementation complexity. Panelists will debate whether incorporating societal values through GCEA is a practical next step or an aspirational ideal requiring further refinement.

Flip (to) the Script: Is It Time to Rethink Health Economic Modeling for HTAs?

Date and time: May 14, 10:15am – 11:15am
Moderator: Dominic Muston (Merck & Co. Inc)
Speakers: Nicole Mittmann (Canada's Drug Agency), Robert Smith (SCHARR, University of Sheffield), Rebekah Heinzen Borse (Merck & Co., Inc.)

This panel aims to explore the risks and limitations of spreadsheet-based health economic models commonly used in pharma and HTA settings. Speakers will share observed pitfalls, debate the benefits of transitioning to script-based modeling tools like R, and discuss what would be required for broader adoption. The session will consider how to improve transparency, reproducibility, and reliability in modeling to support better-informed healthcare decisions.

Leveraging Automated Tools for Literature Reviews in Health Economics and Outcomes Research: Opportunities, Challenges, and Best Practices

Date and time: May 15, 11:45am – 12:45pm

Moderator: Ramiro E Gilardino (Independent)
Speakers: Ranita M Tarchand (Nested Knowledge), Rajshree Pandey (Alexion AstraZeneca Rare Disease), Mitch Higashi (ISPOR)

Amid growing demands for faster, more scalable literature reviews in HEOR, this forum examines how automation can support high-quality evidence synthesis. Drawing on a case study from ISPOR’s Health Equity Special Interest Group, speakers will discuss the integration of AI tools in study selection and data extraction, explore implementation challenges, and offer practical strategies for combining automation with human oversight to maintain scientific rigor and transparency.

The Three Percent Discount Rate: Is It Really Time to Move On: How Much Does It Matter?

Date and time: May 15, 3:15pm – 4:15pm
Moderator: Joshua Cohen (Tufts Medical Center)
Speakers: David J Vanness (The Pennsylvania State University, University Park), Jason Shafrin (FTI Consulting)

As debate resurfaces around the long-standing three-percent discount rate in cost-effectiveness analysis, this session revisits its relevance in today’s shifting economic climate. Panelists will weigh arguments for maintaining, lowering, or raising the rate, considering factors such as future uncertainty, evolving public investment priorities, and advances in technology. Attendees will also explore how discount rate choices influence value assessments, using real-world applications and insights from US government agency practices to ground the discussion.

Value Assessment Is No Longer Just for Payers: Debating How Provider Health Systems Can Leverage HEOR Methods to Inform Decision Making Under Value-Based Care and Alternative Payment Models

Date and time: May 16, 10:00am – 11:00am
Moderator: Jason Shafrin (FTI Consulting)
Speakers: Anna Flattau (Jefferson Health), Kyi-Sin Than (FTI Consulting Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy)

As CMS pushes to enroll all Medicare and most Medicaid beneficiaries in alternative payment models (APMs) by 2030, this session examines the role of HEOR in supporting provider decision-making within APM and value-based care (VBC) frameworks. Panelists will explore how HEOR can inform care strategies, identify limitations, and highlight practical applications across diverse clinical and payment contexts.

Latest research in health economics

To explore health economics further, ISPOR 2025 includes numerous research posters showcasing emerging data and perspectives from across the HEOR landscape.

New Tools Facilitating Health Economics and Outcomes Research

Date and time: May 14, 10:15am – 11:15am
Moderator: Karen M Lee (CDA-AMC)

This Podium Session will highlight new methods that streamline data extraction, evidence synthesis, model conceptualization, and programming, offering practical insights into improving efficiency, consistency, and automation in health economics and outcomes research. Research includes:

• VBA and R to Automate Health Economic Model Programming – Michal Pochopien (Clever-Access)
• The Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Development of Economic Models – Aidan Dineen (EVERSANA)

Novel Concepts and Frameworks in Health Economic Evaluations

Date and time: May 16, 8:00am – 9:00am
Moderator: Rahul Mudumba (University of Southern California)

The moderator will lead attendees through a series of presentations exploring new frameworks and approaches that can help inform decision-making in healthcare evaluation, reimbursement, regulation. These include:

• How Can We Make Innovative Payment and Pricing Schemes Work? Findings of the European Union Research Project HI-PRIX – Michael Drummond (University of York)
• A Policy Framework for Multi-Indication Evidence Synthesis in Oncology Health Technology Assessment (HTA) – Marta Soares (University of York)

HEOR Impact Cases Poster Tour

Date and time: May 14, 11:30am – 12:15pm
In this Poster Tour, attendees can experience a guided walk-through of a series of posters presented during the ISPOR conference. Featured posters include:

• Payment Models for Sickle-Cell Disease Gene Therapies in Colorado Medicaid: Real-World Data Analysis – Antal T Zemplenyi (Center for Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research, University of Colorado)
• Accelerated Access Pathways at Canada’s Drug Agency: Evaluating Progress and Future Directions in HTA – Sudha Kutty (Canada's Drug Agency)
• Navigating Uncertainty Within a Re-evaluation Process: Epidemiological Approach vs Real-World Data in a Budget Impact Analysis for CAR T-cell Therapies in Quebec – Rachel Arcand (Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux [INESSS])
• How to Use Real-world Data Across Regions to Gain Regulatory Approval: A Case Study – Setareh A Williams (Star Biopharma Consulting)

Methodology Research in HEOR Poster Tour

In this Poster Tour, attendees can experience a guided walk-through of a series of posters presented during the ISPOR conference. Featured posters include:

Date and time: May 14, 4:00am – 4:45pm
Moderator: Min-Hua Jen (Eli Lilly)

• Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing in Healthcare: Should We Adjust for Inflation or Reapply the Method? – Simon Lafrance (Université Lava)
• Patient-Reported Outcome Endpoint Emulation in Heart Failure External Control Arm Study (EMULATE-HF PRO-ECA Study) – Onyeka Illoh (University of Maryland School of Pharmacy)

Other posters of interest include:

• Other Similar Measures? – How Different Really Are QALYs From Life Years, Health Years in Total, and Equal Value Life Years? – Brian Reddy (Pfizer)
• Approaches to Model Patient And Carer Utilities and Disutilities of Adverse Events in Economic Models for Rare Disease Treatments in NICE Appraisals – Lea Wiedmann (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
• The Global Economic Burden of Type 1 Diabetes: Current Estimates and Projections to 2040 – Jee H Choe (University of Southern California)
• Advancing Health Equity in Economic Evaluations, With The Distributional Generalized Risk-Adjusted Cost-Effectiveness (DGRACE) Model – Emmanuel F Drabo (Johns Hopkins University)
• Incorporating Social Drivers of Health Information Into Health Economics and Outcomes Research: Neighborhood-Level Proxies Versus Individual Level Data – Karl M Kilgore (Inovalon)
• Demonstrating Broader Economic Impact of Oncology Diagnostics and Therapeutics on Healthcare Resource Utilization Across All Relevant Specialties – Ryan Callahan (Prova Health)
• The Impact of Family Spillover Effects in Economic Evaluation for SMA Type 1 Treatments in the United States – Stacey Kowal (Genentech)
• Redefining Health Economic Evaluation: A Call for Advanced Models to Assess Real-World Operational Efficiency – Felipe Fagundes (Hi! Healthcare Intelligence)
• Healthcare Resource Utilization And Costs Following Disease Progression With First-Line Systemic Therapy In Patients With Advanced Endometrial Cancer in the US – Solomon J Lubinga (GSK)
• Review of US Cost Effectiveness Evaluations for Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) in Oncology – Deepti Rai (PharmaQuant Insights)
• Development of a PRISMA Extension for Systematic Reviews of Health Economic Evaluations (PRISMA-EconEval): A Project Protocol – Phuong B Tran (University of Oxford)
• Can Gen-AI Assist in Translating Health Economic Data Across Formats? A Proof-of-Concept for an HEOR Translator Tool – Tushar Srivastava (ConnectHEOR)
• Integrating Metrics of Environmental Sustainability into Economic Evaluations: A Targeted Literature Review – Zipporah R. Abraham Paiss (Trinity Life Sciences)
• Integration of Environmental Considerations in Economic Evaluations: Significant Shift or Token Gesture? Insights From Severe Asthma Treatments – Loïg Gaugain (INESSS)
• Methodological Variations in Systematic Reviews of Health Economic Models – Beata Smela (Clever-Access)

Coverage by The Evidence Base

The Evidence Base will be providing exclusive coverage of ISPOR 2025 (May 13–15, Montreal, Canada), including daily session highlights and in-depth features on all three plenaries. Register on The Evidence Base and follow us on LinkedIn to stay informed and up to date with the latest insights and developments from the conference.