Newswise — Lawrenceville, NJ, USA—September 24, 2018—ISPOR, the professional society for health economics and outcomes research, announced plenary sessions and speakers for ISPOR Europe 2018 that is scheduled for 10-14 November in Barcelona, Spain. The conference will center on the theme, “New Perspectives for Improving 21st Century Health Systems.” Program co-chairs include Sarah Garner, PhD, World Health Organization, Switzerland; Zoltán Kaló, PhD, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary; and Guillem López-Casasnovas, PhD, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain. 

The first plenary session, “Joint Assessment of Relative Effectiveness: ‘Trick or Treat’ for Decision Makers in EU Member States,” is scheduled for 12 November 2018. This session will invite a panel of stakeholders from the European health technology assessment (HTA) bodies, European institutions, industry, patients, and payers to discuss the European Commissions’ draft regulation on HTA that proposes the introduction of a Europe-wide joint clinical assessment. The panelists will discuss the risks and benefits of this approach to move beyond the status quo in European HTA processes. Speakers include:

  • Moderator: Finn Børlum Kristensen, MD, PhD, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
  • Menno Aarnout, International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies, Brussels, Belgium
  • Luciana Ballini, EUnetHTA, Emilia Romagna, Italy
  • Nicola Bedlington, European Patients Forum, Brussels, Belgium
  • Ansgar Hebborn, PhD, F. Hoffman-La Roche AG, Basel, Switzerland
  • Andrzej Rys, MD, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium (invited)
  • Roman Topór-Mądry, Agency for Health Technology Assessment at Tariff System, Warsaw, Poland 

The second plenary session, “Pharmaceutical Pricing: The Many Faces of Fairness,” will be held on 13 November 2018. This session will focus on defining “fair” in the context of pharmaceutical pricing. Context for the discussion will center on the World Health Organization’s first Fair Pricing Forum held in 2017 that focused global attention on the apparent perversity of high prices that restrict access to essential patented medicines and the unpredictability of low prices that drive shortages in the generics sector. Speakers include:

  • Moderator: Sarah Garner, PhD, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Marcin Czech, PhD, MD, MBA, Polish Ministry of Health, Warsaw, Poland
  • Eric Low, OBE, Amyloidosis Research Consortium, East Lothian, Scotland, UK
  • Joep Muijrers, PhD, PureTech Health, Boston, MA, USA
  • Tanya Potashnik, MA, Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
  • Lluis Sauri-Romero, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
  • Richard Torbett, PhD, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, London, UK 

The third and final plenary session, “Budget Impact and Expenditure Caps: Potential or Pitfall?” is scheduled for 14 November 2018. This session will feature discussions on the benefits and challenges of controlling the budget impact of health policies by implementing financial caps in Europe.

  • Moderator: Guillem López-Casasnovas, PhD, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
  • Félix Lobo, PhD, University Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
  • Peter C. Smith, MSc, University of York, London, UK
  • Adrian Towse, MA, MPhil, Office of Health Economics, London, UK
  • Geert van Maanen, Formerly with Ministry of Health, The Netherlands 

ISPOR is recognized globally as the leading professional society in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) and its role in improving healthcare decisions. ISPOR Europe 2018 is the leading HEOR conference in Europe and draws more than 5000 healthcare stakeholders including health ministries and government offices, HTA bodies, public and private payers, researchers and academicians, and patients and patient advocates. The conference also features the Society’s renowned Essential HEOR Education curriculum of half- and full-day short courses on 10-11 November 2018. 

 

Additional information on ISPOR Europe 2018 can be found at:

Conference Information | Registration | Short Course Program | Sponsorship Opportunities | Exhibitor Opportunities | Press
 

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ISPOR, the professional society for health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), is an international, multistakeholder, nonprofit dedicated to advancing HEOR excellence to improve decision making for health globally. The Society is the leading source for scientific conferences, peer-reviewed and MEDLINE®-indexed publications, good practices guidance, education, collaboration, and tools/resources in the field.
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Meeting Link: ISPOR Europe 2018