IMS HEOR experts played a major role at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Conference of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research (ISPOR), held in Shanghai, China.
“With budget constraints growing, and pharmaceutical costs rising, policy makers in the Asia Pacific region are increasingly looking to Health Economics and Outcomes Research as a possible cost control solution,” says Tina Lambert, vice president, Global HEOR, Consulting & PMA, Global Launch & Brand Management. “We demonstrated our thought-leadership role in this arena with a symposium on HEOR trends in Asia, a workshop on HEOR issues in the region’s drug reimbursement programs, as well as podium presentations and several papers.”
“This ISPOR conference was an excellent opportunity for IMS people to demonstrate their expertise in an increasingly important public-policy arena for Asia-Pacific decision-makers. We shared many key insights with them, formally and informally, and underscored our ability to offer them the advice and counsel they will need in the rapidly-changing healthcare environment.”
In addition to an exhibition stand IMS also contributed 13 papers that were offered to the 700 attendees. The papers covered a broad range of topics, including the impact of schizophrenia on caregivers, a health economic evaluation of aspirin in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, and a cost-effectiveness study on alternate treatments for bipolar disorder.
Recognized Leader
“IMS is a recognized leader in this arena,” says Tina. “In fact, one of our people, Andrew Palmer, was recently named by the editor of ISPOR’s newsletter, Connections, as one of the ten most influential HEOR authors in 2005 – one who made a difference in ‘educating and informing decision-makers about health economics.’”
The IMS Symposium, which was chaired by Professor Lieven Annemans, principal, HEOR, Belgium, was titled, “Implementing Pharmacoeconomic Guidelines in Asia: Will Increasing Efficiency Help Contain Costs?”
“We looked at the subject from several points of view,” says Lieven. “IMS’s Peter Davey, principal, HEOR, Australia, examined the impact of pharmacoeconomic guidelines on controlling pharma costs in Europe and Australia. He concluded that these guidelines are just one aspect of cost-containment policy, and are likely to succeed only if they are combined with restrictions on the list of reimbursable drugs.”
Eun Young Bae, a senior researcher in the Korean Health Insurance Review Agency (HIRA), discussed the guidelines her country has developed, which are scheduled to be introduced in the near future. HIRA’s guidelines include a re-evaluation of drug prices every three years, and a requirement that high-priced drugs will only be listed if they represent a significant improvement over currently used products, and are used in the appropriate therapeutic category.
A third panel member, Mi-Won Han, of Sanofi-Aventis Korea, emphasized the importance of using pharmacoeconomics as one of a set of criteria for decision-making, in the context of clinical evidence, the needs of patients and therapeutic value. She also strongly recommended a partnership approach between the industry and regulatory authorities, supported by the evidence provided by longitudinal patient data. Also, Dr. Shu Chuen Li, associate professor, National University of Singapore, described the critical need in Asia for academic and technical training of HEOR program administrators, so that these policies can be applied effectively.
“Peter also led a workshop on drug pricing and reimbursement issues in Asia, suggesting a real-world approach to developing, implementing and managing an effective policy framework built on pharmacoeconomic guidelines,” notes Lieven. “Peter covered every aspect of this type of program, from the scope and complexity of guidelines to funding and communications requirements.”
“This ISPOR conference was an excellent opportunity for IMS people to demonstrate their expertise in an increasingly important public-policy arena for Asia-Pacific decision-makers,” adds Tina. “We shared many key insights with them, formally and informally, and underscored our ability to offer them the advice and counsel they will need in the rapidly-changing healthcare environment.”
Download the Abstracts: ISPOR 2nd Asia-Pacific Conference 2006