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:
Pharmacy Manager
Clinical Services, Premera Blue Cross
Director of Strategy and Pharmacy Purchasing
MassHealth
Senior Policy Fellow
National Academy for State Health Policy
Chief Operating Officer
National Psoriasis Foundation
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
Senior Director, Health Economics and Outcomes Research
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
President and Founder
Patients for Affordable Drugs
Senior Vice President and Head of the Center for Observational and Real-World Evidence
Merck & Co.