The current economic climate is further increasing scrutiny of the true value that new medicines bring to patients. The numerous diverse stakeholders, with often divergent goals and definitions of value, have created more hurdles that must be overcome if new medicines are to reach patients.
In recent years the increasing application of Health Technology Assessments (HTA) has sought to provide a link between the best available evidence and decision making.
This internationally active field continues to grow, stimulated by the need to better support disease management and clinical and policy decisions, but the approaches tend to be siloed within different countries and jurisdictions.
Pharmaceutical market access managers therefore face a complex, interconnected ecosystem with which they have to engage in an effective and efficient way. Our research has shown considerable insight can be drawn by looking not at the agencies in isolation but viewing them as a network of inter-related institutions.
Quintiles has analysed the complexities of the HTA universe using visual network analysis techniques to better understand the links and influences between HTA agencies, research institutions and their involvement in decision making. The analysis is primarily based on published data collected from HTA agencies’ websites and HTA reports.
Through examing the similarities and differences in the assessment and opinions across the network of HTA agencies, institutions and stakeholders, the high degree of interconnectivity between these different players becomes apparent as they reference each other and collaborate around individual assessments.
As much as profiling certain agencies like NICE in the UK or IQWiG in Germany is useful, a proper understanding of their role and impact is only possible if you see how they are CONNECTED to their peer organisations and other stakeholders. Our innovative network analysis unravels the densely interconnected data and answers questions such as; precisely how has a specific technology been assessed by different agencies?; how does a specific HTA agency operate in the HTA universe – with whom do they have similar approaches and conclusions, and with whom do they substantively differ? Are there discernible international patterns emerging in assessment decisions and why?
Answering these questions enables biopharma companies to understand who is connected to whom and who is influencing who. Ultimately, it can provide insight as to how to engage more effectively in the HTA environment.
Such engagement and understanding will help to unravel the complexities of the new health landscape where payers’ influence becomes more far-reaching and interconnected through collaborative relationships among healthcare stakeholders – not only in established pharmaceutical markets but also in the emerging markets.
The Author
Cas Wiebinga PhD, Practice Leader, Market Access at Quintiles
He can be contacted at: cas.wiebinga@quintiles.com