ISPOR Europe 2019: Editor’s top picks
Ahead of ISPOR Europe 2019 (2—6 November, Copenhagen, Denmark) I share with you my top talks and sessions that I’m most looking forward to from this year’s agenda.
What is ISPOR?
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) is a global professional society for all health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) stakeholders. The society’s 2019 European meeting is taking place in Copenhagen (Denmark), 2—6 November at the Bella Center Copenhagen.
What should I look out for?
Digital transformation in healthcare is a hot, emerging topic that we are at the very cusp of realizing its full potential for improving the delivery of high-quality, patient-centric care. Unsurprisingly, healthcare digitalization is a big focus at ISPOR Europe this year and I am looking forward to hearing about the very latest industry advances and challenges associated with this.
- Using digital data transformation for strategic patient empowerment (Monday, November 4, 7:00am): the first conference forum will convene key stakeholders to evaluate the use and value of patient empowerment tools, government collected patient reported outcomes and experience measures, digital patient-generated health data, point-of-care level wearables and much more.
- Healthcare digitalization — instant, on demand and always connected (Monday November 4, 8:30am): the first plenary session of the event will look at whether we are entering a ‘golden age’ of digital healthcare innovation and what obstacles might need to be overcome to get there.
- Shaping the digital healthcare system (Tuesday, November 5, 8:45am): this session will assess how healthcare systems are adapting to critical technological developments that may allow the provision of more effective and personalized patient care — including artificial intelligence, digital and real-time medicine, genomics and more.
Another rapidly progressing field, considered one of the future mainstays of healthcare delivery, concerns precision medicine. I am keen to delve deeper into the practicalities of personalized medicine: what does the evidence say? Is its cost-effective? How can real-world evidence (RWE) complement randomized controlled trial data to advance the field more rapidly?
- Genomics in the future of health — the road to better outcomes? (Monday, November 4, 15:45pm): This session will seek to unite the clinical genomic and HEOR worlds, to explore ways in which transformational genomic technologies may be complemented by RWE.
- Considerations for analyzing real-world genomics data — the value, risks and precautions (Monday, November 4, 17:00pm): James Anderson (Merck Sharp & Dohme; PA, USA), Michael Weichenthal (Christian-Albrechts-Universitat zu Kiel; Kiel, Germany) and Katarzyna Witkowska (Genomics England; London, UK) will scrutinize the methodological procedures employed when conducting real-world genomics studies to ensure genomics data fulfils it’s potential to enhance clinical decision making and improve patient outcomes.
- Should gene therapies be exempt from health technology assessment scrutiny? (Tuesday, November 6, 14:15pm): Keith Tolley (Tolley Health Economics; Buxton, UK) will moderate this panel debating whether the extreme benefits that potentially curative gene therapies offer should be exempt from traditional health technology assessment.
- Value vs value traps — how to control prices for highly effective but high-priced therapies? (Wednesday, November 6, 8:30am).
Of course, I am always keeping an ear out to learn the latest about transparency and RWE regulations. I am therefore also keen to hear:
- Time for change? Has the time come for the pharma industry to accept modest prices? (Monday, November 4, 14:15pm): Sarah Garner (WHO), Jens Grueger (F. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Division Pharma; Basel, Switzerland) and Michael Schroeter (Viopas Partners; Zurich, Switzerland) will offer differing perspectives on what determines drug pricing and whether this is sustainable.
- Transparency in RWE — can we navigate the key challenges? (Tuesday, November 5, 11:00am): Andrew Bate (Pfizer; Surrey, UK) Marc Berger (Pfizer; NY, USA), Daniel Mullins (University of Maryland School of Pharmacy; MD, USA) and Shirley Wang (Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; MA, USA) will debate the challenges associated with progressing an initiative for RWE transparency.
How can I meet The Evidence Base and Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research (JCER) teams?
Laura Dormer (Editorial Director, JCER), Joanne Walker (Head of Publication Solutions) and Freya Leask (Publisher, The Evidence Base) will be present at ISPOR Europe 2019 and would love to meet as many of you as possible. Email me, or stop by booth #C2-026, to meet them, discuss potential manuscripts and share your ideas for what you’d like to see on The Evidence Base, as well as pick up a free gift!