scholarly journals Advanced therapy medicinal products and health technology assessment principles and practices for value-based and sustainable healthcare

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bengt Jönsson ◽  
Grace Hampson ◽  
Jonathan Michaels ◽  
Adrian Towse ◽  
J.-Matthias Graf von der Schulenburg ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Gozzo ◽  
Giovanni Luca Romano ◽  
Francesca Romano ◽  
Serena Brancati ◽  
Laura Longo ◽  
...  

Even for centrally approved products, each European country is responsible for the effective national market access. This step can result in inequalities in terms of access, due to different opinions about the therapeutic value assessed by health technology assessment (HTA) bodies. Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) represent a major issue with regard to the HTA in order to make them available at a national level. These products are based on genes, tissues, or cells, commonly developed as one-shot treatment for rare or ultrarare diseases and mandatorily authorized by the EMA with a central procedure. This study aims to provide a comparative analysis of HTA recommendations issued by European countries (France, Germany, and Italy) following EMA approval of ATMPs. We found a low rate of agreement on the therapeutic value (in particular the “added value” compared to the standard of care) of ATMPs. Despite the differences in terms of clinical assessment, the access has been usually guaranteed, even with different timing and limitations. In view of the importance of ATMPs as innovative therapies for unmet needs, it is crucial to understand and act on the causes of disagreement among the HTA. In addition, the adoption of the new EU regulation on HTA would be useful to reduce disparities of medicine’s assessment among European countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabete Gonçalves

AbstractAdvanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are a heterogeneous class of medicinal products that by offering the potential of cure represent a paradigm shift in the approach of many life-threatening diseases. Although a common regulatory framework for ATMPs has been established in the EU, the health technology assessment (HTA) and financing decisions remain local. The aim of this article is to present an integrated analysis of the current status of the value judgment of ATMPs and the integration of ethical evaluation in the HTA process. It has been identified that approaching the specificities of ATMPs in terms of market access will require a broadening of the definition of value to be able to systematically capture elements of value not traditionally considered. Outcomes modelling will play an important role in the pricing and reimbursement of ATMPs, providing a way to bridge the gap caused by the absence of data from clinical studies or real-world data. Given the nature and disruptive consequences of ATMPs the assessment and adoption of these medicinal products raises important ethical questions, both at a policy and at society level that should be properly addressed. HTA can be made more transparent and reliable, and simultaneously promote robust and accountable decision making, by turning explicit the value judgments implicit in HTA. Ultimately, there should be no core conflict between ethical requirements and HTA in a scenario where the goal is to promote equity and access of patients to truly innovative therapies such as ATMPs, while assuring the sustainability of healthcare systems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. 54-55
Author(s):  
Grace Hampson ◽  
Adrian Towse

INTRODUCTION:There is considerable excitement around the development of regenerative medicines (or advanced therapy medicinal products, ATMPs), with the expectation that they may bring substantial clinical gains and offer cures for previous debilitating and fatal diseases. However, high costs mean that Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and reimbursement decisions are challenging for payers and manufacturers, even when the therapies are expected to offer good value for money.In Europe, seven ATMPs have market authorization, yet only one has achieved national level reimbursement. Statistics such as these put HTA bodies under pressure to review their methods and consider how these can apply to regenerative medicines.METHODS:We present a review of one example, from the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), who commissioned an external organization to undertake a mock appraisal of a hypothetical ATMP using standard methods. The therapeutic area chosen for the mock appraisal was chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for treating relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.RESULTS:The role of uncertainty was a key consideration within the report, yet we found that the presentation of uncertainty within the mock appraisal was misleading for decision makers.We found that the exercise represents a thorough mock HTA of CAR T-cell therapy. However, it focused on testing whether ATMPs could fit into the existing HTA pathway for conventional medicines, rather than seeking to identify the most suitable approach for assessing regenerative medicines. We suggest the latter would have been a more relevant question for the mock appraisal.CONCLUSIONS:Any significant departures from the usual HTA process must be based on solid economic rationale if we are to ensure efficient allocation of resources. Thus, in order for regenerative medicines to be given ‘special treatment,’ it must be demonstrated that societal preferences, or the full extent of health (or non-health) benefits, are not being realised for this group of treatments through existing HTA methods.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Benisheva-Dimitrova ◽  
Dobriana Sidjimova ◽  
Daniela Cherneva ◽  
Nikolay Kralimarkov

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the analysis, discussion, and challenges of the price and reimbursement process of medicinal products in Bulgaria in the period 2000–15 and health technology assessment (HTA) role in these processes.Methods: The dynamics of the reform, with respect to the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, are tracked by documentary review of regulations, articles, and reports in the European Union (EU), as well as analytical and historical analysis.Results: Pricing and reimbursement processes have passed through a variety of committees between 2003 and 2012. Separate units for pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products were established in Bulgaria for the first time, in 2013, when an independent body, the National Council at Prices and Reimbursement of Medicinal Products, was set up to approve medicinal products with new international nonproprietary names (INN) for reimbursement in Bulgaria. Over the course of 2 years (2013–14), thirty-three new INNs were approved for reimbursement. In December 2015, a new HTA body was introduced, and assigned to the National Centre for Public Health and Analyses.Conclusions: Although Bulgaria has current legislation on pricing and reimbursement which is in accordance with the EU rules, there is no mechanism for reporting and monitoring these processes or the financial resources annually, so as to provide an overall objective assessment and analysis by year. Therefore, this financial assessment should become a national policy objective for the future.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chara Kani ◽  
Vasilios Kourafalos ◽  
Panagiota Litsa

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the current regulatory environment in Greece to evaluate the potential introduction of health technology assessment (HTA) for medicinal products for human use.Methods: Data sources consist of national legislation on pricing and reimbursement of health technologies to identify the potential need of establishing HTA and its relevant structure.Results: The pricing procedure regarding medicinal products for human use is based on an external reference pricing mechanism which considers the average of the three lowest Euorpean Union prices. Currently, a formal HTA procedure has not been applied in Greece, and the only prerequisite used for the reimbursement of medicinal products for human use is their inclusion in the Positive Reimbursement List. To restrict pharmaceutical expenditure, a variety of measures—such as clawback mechanisms, rebates, monthly budget caps per physician, generics penetration targeting—have been imposed, aiming mainly to regulate the price level rather than control the introduction of medicinal products for human use in the Greek pharmaceutical market.Conclusions: Greece has the opportunity to rapidly build capacity, implement, and take advantage of the application of HTA mechanisms by clearly defining the goals, scope, systems, context, stakeholders, and methods that will be involved in the local HTA processes, taking into account the country's established e-prescription system and the recently adapted legislative framework.


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