— Initial annual report to be issued in first quarter of 2019 —

Boston – June 27, 2018 – The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) today announced the formation of an advisory group to guide the development of a report on US drug price increases that are unsupported by clinical evidence. ICER plans to issue its initial annual report on unsupported price increases during the first quarter of 2019.

“The federal government has expressed concern about drug price increases, and several states have already passed laws that will generate lists of drugs with substantial price increases so that policy makers and the public can seek greater transparency,” said Steven D. Pearson, MD, MSc, President of ICER. “What isn’t available to federal or state policymakers, to patients, or to other stakeholders is an explicit and independent approach to determining whether price increases are supported by new clinical evidence or other factors. That’s the goal for this new initiative.

“Our value-based price benchmarks on new drugs are being used by the pharmaceutical and insurance industries to develop pricing and coverage policies that reflect the evidence on how well drugs actually improve patient outcomes. By applying an evidence-based approach to price increases for older drugs, we hope to further safeguard patients’ ability to afford and access high-value health care.”

To develop the methodology that will guide these forthcoming reports, ICER has assembled a multi-stakeholder advisory committee comprising the following experts:

Dan Danielson, MS, RPh
Pharmacy Manager
Clinical Services, Premera Blue Cross
 
Kaha Hizanishvili, MA, MBA
Director of Strategy and Pharmacy Purchasing
MassHealth
 
Jane Horvath, MHSA
Senior Policy Fellow
National Academy for State Health Policy
 
Leah McCormick Howard, JD
Chief Operating Officer
National Psoriasis Foundation
 
Paul L. Jeffrey, PharmD
Director of Pharmacy
MassHealth,Office of Clinical Affairs;
Associate Professor
Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical SchoolAnna Kaltenboeck, MA
Senior Health Economist and Program Director
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

 

Andreas Kuznik, PhD
Senior Director, Health Economics and Outcomes Research
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
David Mitchell
President and Founder
Patients for Affordable Drugs
Susan Shiff, PhD, MBA
Senior Vice President and Head of the Center for Observational and Real-World Evidence
Merck & Co.
 
About ICER
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an independent non-profit research institute that produces reports analyzing the evidence on the effectiveness and value of drugs and other medical services. ICER’s reports include evidence-based calculations of prices for new drugs that accurately reflect the degree of improvement expected in long-term patient outcomes, while also highlighting price levels that might contribute to unaffordable short-term cost growth for the overall health care system.
 
ICER’s reports incorporate extensive input from all stakeholders and are the subject of public hearings through three core programs: the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), the Midwest Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (Midwest CEPAC), and the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (New England CEPAC). These independent panels review ICER’s reports at public meetings to deliberate on the evidence and develop recommendations for how patients, clinicians, insurers, and policymakers can improve the quality and value of health care. For more information about ICER, please visit ICER’s website.