ISPOR 2024: First look at the conference program
ISPOR – The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research – has provided a ‘first look’ at the ISPOR 2024 conference program. Taking place May 5–8, 2024 in Atlanta, GA, USA, the conference will unite industry and academic researchers, policymakers, regulators, payers, patient representatives and other healthcare stakeholders to explore the latest issues in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) and real-world evidence (RWE).
For ISPOR 2024, the program committee is co-chaired by Nancy A Dreyer (Founder, Dreyer Strategies LLC; Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chief Scientific Advisor, PicnicHealth), Charlene Wong (Senior Advisor for Health Strategy to the Director, CDC) and Thomas Senderovitz (Senior VP Data Science, Novo Nordisk). Here, we highlight some of the issue panels, workshops, and breakout sessions that the program committee has selected to be on the agenda for ISPOR 2024.
Watch our ‘Patti’s People’ video with Nancy A Dreyer to learn more about real-world data quality, the role of RWE in improving patient outcomes and more!
Real-world data
The topic of ‘Real World Data & Information Systems’ will be explored in several issue panels and workshops. Kicking off Day 1 of the conference, Sreeram Ramagopalan (Lane Clark and Peacock, UK) will chair the session, ‘Target Trial Emulation in HTA RWD Submissions: A Best Practice Not Embraced – Methodological Challenge or Manufacturers’ Reluctance?‘ that will provide a 360-degree view of the topic from the health technology assessment (HTA) and pharmaceutical industry perspectives. Target trial emulation will also be discussed in the workshop, ‘Target Trial Emulation in Practice: An Introduction and Exploration of Application Through Case Studies‘. The practical aspects of RWE generation are also dissected in the workshops, ‘Getting Real About Real-World Data From Electronic Health Records‘ and, ‘The Criticality of Computable Phenotypes to the Development of Regulatory-Grade Real-World Evidence.‘
Inflation Reduction Act
The impact of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA) and the European Commission’s revision of the pharmaceutical legislation in Europe, are subject to much speculation. The breakout session, ‘International Fallout: How the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US and Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA) and Revision of the EU Pharmaceutical Strategy in Europe Will Have Global Consequences‘ will address these topics head on. Further scrutiny of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program enacted under the IRA will take place in the session, ‘Cookbooks Versus Blenders: Paradigms for Integrating Factors Relevant to the CMS Drug Price Negotiation Process.’
Integrating AI in evidence generation
With the rapid advancements in AI tools for evidence generation, the session, ‘The Future of Data-Driven HEOR Decision-Making Powered by Generative AI: How Soon Is Now?‘ should provide some interesting discussions. Other sessions to explore AI in decision-making include, ‘Bridging Real-World Data and Regulatory Decision-Making: The Role of AI in External Control Arm Development‘ and, ‘Emerging Landscape of Health Economic Evaluation in the Era of Generative AI‘, where Dalia Dawoud (NICE, UK) will present the HTA body perspective.
Novel methods in value assessment
The ‘much maligned‘ quality-adjusted life year (QALY) will be subject to debate in two highly anticipated sessions, ‘Health Economists Want to Maximize QALYs, but Do Patients?‘ and, ‘I Have a Better QALY Than You: How to Make Sense of Alternatives to the QALY for Research and Policymaking.’ Will the panelists and audience agree on the merits of these measures to move cost-effectiveness policy forward in the US?
Several sessions will also explore elements of the ISPOR Value Flower, including the workshop on, ‘How Can Grace and Other Novel Methods Estimate ISPOR Value Flower Components? A User Guide to Generalized Cost Effectiveness Analysis (GCEA).’
Patient-centered research
“Nobody knows more about the reality of living with a condition than them. Not the doctors, not the pharmaceutical company and not the regulators. How well (or not) a medication works for treating a condition is one of many things that actually matters to the people living with an illness.” Thomas Smith, Life Sciences Public Engagement Specialist
ISPOR is recognizing the growing importance of a ‘patient-centered’ approach to HEOR and RWE by holding the ISPOR Patient-Centered Research Summit 2024, a separate half-day event on Sunday May 5, 2024. The summit will provide a global forum for the exchange of advancements in patient-centered research, patient engagement strategies, and policy supporting the integration of this evidence into regulatory, value, and health technology evaluation processes.
Sessions being held during the main conference on patient-centered research span a range of subjects, including, ‘Global Harmonization for Patient Focused Drug Development (PFDD): What Are the Arguable Challenges for Pragmatic Guideline Uptake and Implementation and How Should We Negotiate and Navigate Alignment?‘ and, ‘Silence Is Not Always Golden: The Value of Engagement for Collection of Patient Experience Data in Drug Development.‘
Coverage by The Evidence Base
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If you are taking part in a session at ISPOR 2024 and would be interested in discussing this topic further in an ‘Expert Insights‘ interview, please contact Jo Walker.
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