Takeaways from ISPOR Europe 2024
An energetic team of Catalyst Flex medical writers—including me—conquered the nearly three days of ISPOR Europe 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. The Catalyst Flex team was among 4,000 attendees learning and exhibiting. We were proud to present eight research posters and participate in a breakout session contributing to the ever-evolving health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) science, intersecting AI and machine learning (ML), and creative value storytelling.
ISPOR Europe’s theme was “Generating Evidence Toward Health and Well-Being,” which aptly reflects the short courses covering aspects such as
- Real-world evidence and causal analysis—decision-grade evidence, external control arms, and causal inference
- Health economic modeling and methods—cost-effectiveness analysis, survival modeling, and applications in R
- Innovative technologies in HEOR—generative AI, large language models, and machine learning
- Health technology assessment (HTA) and policy—early-stage HTA, rare disease evaluations, and European reimbursement systems
- Patient-centered outcomes—valuation of innovative drugs and advanced patient-reported outcomes
The plenaries revolved around crucial topics such as patient engagement from the continent of Africa, the relationship between weak evidence and high prices of medicines within the purview of European Union (EU) HTA implementation and overall EU HTA readiness from patient, industry, and HTA agency perspectives.
The breakout sessions, issue panels, and workshops had some unique topics such as bereavement effects on health-related quality of life, HTA and varying patient preferences, practical lessons on innovative pricing and payment schemes for health technologies, and the effect of the Medicare price negotiation program in EU pharma policy.
Besides conventional posters on systematic literature reviews, an exponential rise was seen in the posters covering HTA and RWE, reflecting increasing research and policy interests in applicability of HEOR evidence in global and local health systems.
Developments in HEOR/HTA and real-world evidence
In addition, attendees were interested in learning about tailored value story solutions and dual authoring—regulatory and HTA—capabilities.
Through various engagements, ISPOR EU supported the continuously growing interest in medical device RWE generation and analytics. It was a pleasure to meet several renowned industry leaders in the HEOR and RWE in person, such as Ramiro Gilardino, MD, Global HTA and Policy Access Leader with MDS; Carlos Martín Saborido, Director, Agency for the Evaluation of Health Technologies at Carlos III Health Institute; and Juan Antonio Sainz Dominguez, PhD, Medical Advisor, Sanofi. I gained insights from them about developing fit-for-purpose RWE and adopting the same for effective market access.
In some discussions with other attendees, we heard about Europe’s readiness to embrace health technology assessment regulation (HTAR) and the promising role that Patient or Population, Intervention, Comparison or Control, or Outcome (PICO) experts will play in Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA) implementation.
Attending ISPOR EU 2024 was an opportunity to showcase our expertise and a valuable experience to understand the evolving dynamics of the HEOR and value communication space. Here are some interesting key takeaways:
- Healthy Competition Driving Innovation: The HEOR and value communications arena is thriving with robust competition, pushing organizations to innovate and deliver beyond expectations. It’s an exciting time to be part of this dynamic field.
- Co-creation is the New Collaboration: With the JCA being a relatively new frontier for all stakeholders, the emphasis is shifting from traditional collaboration to genuine co-creation. Success here demands shared ownership and innovative partnerships.
- Quality is Non-negotiable: In the realm of value demonstration, quality takes precedence over everything. Whether it’s data, insights, or communication, precision and excellence are the currencies that matter most.
- Seamless RWD Access Fuels RWE Success: Real-world evidence (RWE) continues to be pivotal, but seamless access to high-quality real-world data (RWD) remains the cornerstone for driving impactful insights and outcomes. Investing in data accessibility and integration is not just an advantage—it’s a necessity.
The conference reinforced the importance of staying adaptable, prioritizing quality, and embracing new methodologies to keep pace with the ever-evolving demands of the industry.
Catalyst Flex is well-equipped to provide you with the global capabilities required to successfully carry out clinical research and ensure early market access with value demonstration for these products compliant with European HTAR and other similar regulations.
Contact us to learn more about our experience conducting global HEOR research and crafting compelling value stories for your product’s market access.
