The Evidence Base Post 07 November 2024

ISPOR Europe 2024: Navigating the conference program – focus on drug pricing

The Evidence Base

As ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, ISPOR Europe 2024 approaches, we highlight some of the key sessions of covering drug pricing.

Selected sessions

Ranked second on ISPOR's list of top health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) trends for 2024–2025, drug pricing remains a critical issue for stakeholders across the healthcare landscape. Policies like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US, which includes Medicare negotiating prices for high-expenditure drugs, and the European Union's pharmaceutical strategy aimed at improving access and affordability, highlight ongoing efforts to balance innovation with cost control. High prices and increasing demand for novel therapies continue to challenge national healthcare systems striving to ensure patient access while maintaining budgets, making drug pricing a key focus for the future of healthcare.

Innovative Pricing and Payment Schemes for Health Technologies: Fine in Theory, but How to Make Them Work in Practice? (Monday November 18, 10:15am – 11:15am)

The first session of the day on drug pricing will be moderated by Oriana Ciani (CERGAS, SDA Bocconi School of Management, Italy), with panelists Mikel Berdud (Office of Health Economics, UK), Laura Sampietro-Colom (Clinic Barcelona University Hospital, Spain), and Maria Cavaller Bellaubi (EURORDIS, Spain). The discussion will explore barriers to implementing innovative pricing schemes, including stakeholder alignment, data collection, and administrative challenges, and outline strategies for practical adoption to ensure patient access, affordability, and innovation.

Precision or Perception: Strategic Drug Pricing Anchored on Evidence (Monday November 18, 10:15am – 11:15am)

In this Issue Panel, Priti Jhingran (Genesis Research Group, USA) will lead the multi-stakeholder discussion on strategies for informed drug pricing. Using a hypothetical product scenario, Christopher Blanchette (Novo Nordisk, USA), Frank-Ulrich Fricke (Technische Hochschule Nürnberg, Germany) and Adam Weston (Genesis Research Group, UK) will explore how economic justification, willingness-to-pay research, and analogue landscape analysis can be successfully employed to developing optimal pricing strategies.

Will Europe’s Pharmaceutical Policy and HTA Stakeholders Respond to Medicare Price Negotiation? (Monday November 18, 10:15am – 11:15am)

Moderated by Sean Sullivan (CHOICE Institute, University of Washington, USA), this session will explore the impact of the US Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program on European healthcare policy, health technology assessment (HTA) bodies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Panelists Inma Hernandez (University of California San Diego, USA), Ansgar Hebborn (F. Hoffmann-La-Roche AG, Switzerland) and Jens Grueger (Boston Consulting Group, Switzerland), will discuss implications for EU policy, analyze negotiated drug prices, and assess strategic industry responses, focusing on access, affordability, and innovation under evolving EU regulations.

Access to Medicines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: What Is Being Done? What More Can Be Done? What Can ISPOR Do? (Monday November 18, 11:45am – 12:45pm)

This workshop will explore access delays to innovative medicines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), aiming to foster discussion on policy changes that could improve access. Moderated by Mikkel Oestergaard (MSD Innovation & Development GmbH, Switzerland), the panel – featuring Kärt Veliste (Estonian Health Insurance Fund, Estonia), Marlene Gyldmark (Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, Switzerland), and Silvana Lay Ma (FIFARMA, USA) – will present findings from the Global Differential Pricing Initiative Working Group (part of the ISPOR Special Interest Group on Global Access to Medical Innovation) on the delays and programs developed by companies, payers, and regions to address these challenges.

Are There More Optimal Approaches to Managing Pricing and Reimbursement of Multi-Indication Medicines to Better Facilitate Patient Access? (Tuesday November 19, 10:15am – 11:15am)

Jens Grueger (CHOICE Institute, University of Washington, USA) will moderate this session, which explores optimal approaches to managing pricing and reimbursement (P&R) of multi-indication medicines to improve patient access. Through various lenses, panelists will aim to identify effective and feasible P&R strategies for all stakeholders. Amanda Cole (Office of Health Economics, UK) will present challenges and solutions from an international perspective, followed by Claudio Jommi (Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy) offering the Italian viewpoint. Julien Patris (argenx, Belgium) will provide insights from an industry perspective.

Planning With Payer Insights: Even the Best Economic Models Need Validation (Tuesday November 19, 11:45am – 12:45pm)

This Exhibit Hall Theater presentation, featuring Priti Jhingran (Genesis Research Group, USA), Smita Kothari (Merck & Co., Inc., USA), Dominic Jones-Phillips (Genesis Research Group, USA), and Carole Longson (Carole Longson Consultant, UK) will explore how incorporating payer insights upfront can improve the development and validation of economic models for HTA markets. By adopting an integrated, cross-functional approach, the session aims to show how payer-informed economic models enhance the likelihood of favorable reimbursement decisions, providing life sciences companies with a framework for creating robust models that effectively demonstrate value.

Cell & Gene Therapies: Five Years On – Real-World Data, Outcomes, and Evolution of Payers' Expectations (Tuesday November 19, 3:15am – 3:45pm)

In another Exhibit Hall Theater presentation, Alberto Briones (Lifescience Dynamics, UK) will delve into the 5-year long-term outcomes of CAR-T therapies, focusing on the role of outcomes-based agreements (OBAs) in managing financial risks and enhancing patient access, real-world evidence (RWE) on the long-term efficacy and safety of CAR-T therapies, and implications for access, pricing, and reimbursement. The session will assess whether clinical outcomes justify continued access to these therapies and how OBAs might evolve to ensure sustainable access.

Incorporating Life Cycle Drug Pricing in Cost-Effectiveness Models: What Are the Opportunities and Risks for Health Systems and Manufacturers? (Wednesday November 20, 10:00am – 11:00am)

Moderated by Mark Sculpher (Centre for Health Economics, University of York, UK), this panel will discuss whether drug genericization should be incorporated into cost-effectiveness analyses of new pharmaceuticals. Panelists Peter Neumann (Tufts Medical Center, USA), Beth Woods (University of York, UK), and Dan Ollendorf (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, USA) will explore the opportunities and risks of incorporating drug genericization into economic evaluations, including the approaches currently used by HTA agencies, such as ICER. The session will debate the impact on pricing and access, and assess how this approach could influence pharmaceutical pricing policies and health systems.

Latest research in drug pricing

Monday November 18 (4:00pm – 4:45pm) will see the Pricing, Reimbursement, and Access Poster Tour in the Exhibit Hall, where attendees can experience a guided walk-through of a series of posters presented during the ISPOR conference. Featured posters include:

Posters Featured in this Tour:

Emerging Trends in the Adoption of Alternative Financing Models for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products: A Scoping Review – António Cardoso (Fortrea, Portugal)
Impact of Huge-Seller Repricing on Price Trend for Reimbursable Cancer Drugs in Japan – Chia Hsuan Lin (GlobalData, UK)
Promoting Access to Innovative Drugs: A Review of National Drug Price Negotiation in China – Z Yan (Fudan University, China)
Evaluating Reimbursement Pathway of Digital Health Technologies (DHT) Across Five European Countries – Sohail Fazeli (Evidinno Outcomes Research, Inc., Canada)
The Evolving German DiGA Market: Insights from a Claims Data Analysis – Daniel Gensorowsky (Vandage GmbH, Germany)
From French Early Access to Reimbursement: A Comparison of Early Access Prices and List Prices – Clément François (Putnam, France)

The Podium Session “International Reference Pricing and Biosimilars” on Tuesday November 19 (1:45pm – 2:45pm), moderated by Steffen Wahler (St. Bernward GmbH, Germany) will look “beyond HTA and negotiations” on the pricing of pharmaceuticals by examining the latest research in international reference pricing for biosimilars. Research includes:

Assessing the Impact of Access Policies on Biosimilar Pricing: A Comparative Study of Five Major European Markets – Vishal Yadav (Inbeeo, UK)
The Effect of Biosimilar Entry on Biologic Drug Prices in Medicare Part B – Aaron Winn, (University of Illinois Chicago, USA)

Coverage by The Evidence Base

The Evidence Base will be providing exclusive coverage of ISPOR Europe 2024 (November 17–20, 2024, Barcelona, Spain), providing daily rounds-ups of many of the sessions as well as deep dives into the three plenaries. Register on The Evidence Base and follow us on LinkedIn to make sure you don't miss any of our coverage and to ensure you stay up-to-date with the latest insights and developments from the conference.