ISPOR 2025: Exploring sessions on value assessment

At the ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 2025 conference (May 13–16, 2025, Montreal, Canada), several sessions will challenge conventional approaches to measuring and demonstrating value in healthcare. From rethinking clinical meaningfulness in chronic conditions to integrating broader value elements, health services innovation, and payer-provider collaboration, these discussions will reflect the evolving landscape of health technology assessment (HTA), pricing, and access as well as the growing need for evidence frameworks that meet the demands of modern healthcare systems.

Selected sessions

Rethinking Clinical Meaningfulness and Value Assessment in the Context of Chronic Progressive Diseases

Date and time: May 14, 10:15am – 11:15am
Moderator: William L Herring (RTI Health Solutions)
Speakers: Cheryl Coon (Critical Path Institute), William Lenderking (William R Lenderking, LLC), Melanie D Whittington (Leerink Center for Pharmacoeconomics)

In this workshop, experts will explore how to evaluate the clinical meaningfulness and long-term economic value of treatments for chronic progressive diseases. The panel will discuss challenges in assessing cumulative benefits, meaningfulness thresholds, and extrapolating trial data to long-term outcomes. The session will contrast regulatory and HTA perspectives, highlight stakeholder-informed approaches, and examine the valuation of disease-modifying therapies—offering insights for professionals involved in access, reimbursement, and regulatory decision-making.

Value Flower: How Can We Make It Blossom in Value Assessments?

Date and time: May 14, 10:15am – 11:15am
Moderator: Lotte Steuten (Office of Health Economics)
Speakers: Lou Garrison (University of Washington), Suzanne McGurn (CDA-AMC), Durhane Wong-Rieger (Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders)

This Issue Panel will look at the challenges of incorporating broader value elements (such as productivity, caregiver impact, and societal benefit) into HTA and payer decision-making. Panelists will examine methodological gaps, ethical questions, and real-world constraints facing patients, payers, and researchers. Through diverse perspectives and interactive discussion, the session aims to highlight opportunities to better capture and apply these elements in routine assessments, while addressing who should bear the cost of benefits beyond the health system.

Emerging Innovations in Health Services: Can Value Assessment Unlock Their Potential?

Date and time: May 15, 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Moderator: Boshen Jiao (University of Southern California)
Speakers: William V Padula (University of Southern California), Nathaniel Hendrix (American Board of Family Medicine), Xin Hu (Emory University)

The speakers will discuss how value assessment can support the adoption of high-impact health services innovations, such as AI-enabled decision tools and early palliative care integration. Panelists will discuss challenges in measuring effectiveness, defining value, and aligning reimbursement with outcomes. Through case studies and interactive dialogue, attendees will gain practical insights into applying value-based frameworks to health service delivery in an evolving US payment landscape.

Less Is More? Understanding and Rewarding the Full Value of Long-Acting Therapies

Date and time: May 15, 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Moderator: Lotte Steuten (Office of Health Economics)
Speakers: Jody Jollimore (CATIE), John O'Brien (National Pharmaceutical Council), Sean D Sullivan (University of Washington)

This panel will examine how current HTA and reimbursement frameworks fall short in capturing the full value of long-acting therapies. Panelists will explore methodological and evidentiary gaps, pricing challenges, and broader impacts on patients, carers, and healthcare systems. The session will offer practical strategies to better align decision-making with the transformative potential of long-acting therapies, promoting sustainable access and equitable value recognition across health systems.

Can Prelaunch Collaboration With Payers Address Uncertainty in Value Assessments Amid Growing Regulatory and Access Gaps?

Date and time: May 16, 8:00am – 9:00am
Moderator: Cristina Masseria (Aesara)
Speakers: Brian O'Rourke (Brian O'Rourke Health Care Consulting, Inc.), Brian Solow (Optum Life Sciences), Diane Munch (Pfizer, Inc.)

With payers facing growing pressure to manage uncertainty around high-cost therapies, this panel discusses practical solutions to align pricing and value from day one. Speakers will explore how enhanced collaboration between payers and pharmaceutical companies can reduce uncertainty related to budget impact and long-term outcomes. Topics include evidence generation at launch, pricing strategies, and cross-country cooperation in data sharing and negotiations, offering a roadmap for balancing regulatory innovation with sustainable, timely patient access.

Global Guidance for Evidence-Based Value Assessment of Innovative Health Technologies: Feasible Reality or Idealistic Dream?

Date and time: May 16, 10:00am – 11:00am
Moderator: Durhane Wong-Rieger (Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders)
Speakers: Alan Balch (Patient Advocate Foundation and National Patient Advocate Foundation), Marina Richardson (ICER), Lou Garrison (University of Washington)

This session will explore whether novel value elements, such as those in the ISPOR Value Flower and generalized cost-effectiveness analysis (GCEA) framework, offer a feasible and ethical path for assessing innovative health technologies. Panelists will debate the potential for global guidance to support more comprehensive, future-ready value assessments that reflect broader health system and societal benefits. The session adds to earlier discussions by advancing the conversation on how to systematically capture broader, often overlooked value elements – such as scientific spillovers, equity, and caregiver impact – that are especially relevant for breakthrough innovations like gene and cell therapies.

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 health economics and outcomes research (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 value assessment

In parallel with these discussions, attendees will have the opportunity to engage with a diverse selection of research posters at ISPOR 2025. Highlights include:

• Early Germline BRCA Testing in Breast Cancer: A Review of Value Frameworks and Cost-Effectiveness Analyses – Lucille A Sun (Curta)
• Value of Multi-Indication Immunotherapies for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases in the United States (US) – Long Nguyen (Cencora)
• Spillover Effects of Medical Innovations: A Generic and Scalable Approach to Measure the Societal Value of Avoided Informal Care Time – Rebecca Grün (WifOR Institute)
• The Prevalence Of Multi-Comorbid Patients In The US: The Potential For Benefit Being Greater Than Bargained For And The Need For Multi-Indication Value Assessment – Philip McEwan (HEOR Ltd)
• Do Breakthrough Therapies Demonstrate Breakthrough Value to Payers? An Evaluation of US Hemophilia B Gene Therapy Access Policies – Lake D Murphy (Alkemi)
• Payer Archetypes and Decision-Making in the United States (US): A framework for Generalised Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (GCEA) Value Elements to Optimize Patient Access and Equity – Karl Freemyer (FIECON)
• Broadening the Scope of Value: Evaluating Payer Perspectives and Insights on ICER's Latest Initiatives and Tools – Jane Y Ha (Cencora)
• Development of a Novel Value Framework for Evaluating Population Genomic Programs Using A Mixed Methods Approach – Scott Spencer (Illumina)
• Developing a Value Assessment Framework for Modified New Drugs In China – Chengaxin Duan (CNHDRC)
• Novel Value Elements: Developing and Applying a Pragmatic Framework in Early Stages of Product Development – Matthias Hofer (The Office of Health Economics)
• Patient Value Assessment Using a Unified Measure Based on Data Envelopment Analysis: A Case Study – Sandrine Bourguignon (RWEality)

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.