February 2023
Guest editor: Anita Charlesworth | Chair, Board of Trustees
Welcome to our Innovation Policy Prize special issue.
I had the privilege of serving as Chair of the Judging Panel for OHE’s inaugural Innovation Policy Prize and was delighted to present the award to Professor Aidan Hollis of the University of Calgary at our prize ceremony last week.
We went into this endeavour with clear objectives: generate novel ideas, facilitate sharing of perspectives, and encourage more research into the economics of the life sciences sector. But even with a £40,000 prize, we were unsure whether people would submit and engage in response to our question “How can policymakers design a system to generate fair prices that balances access and innovation?” so I’m hugely gratified to report that our gamble has paid off.
There were 14 submissions – a highly stimulating mix of ideas, from a number of different countries and from backgrounds in academia and the life sciences industry. Of those, four were shortlisted, which are available to read online, but to summarise:
- Mike Paulden, Associate Professor of Health Economics at the University of Alberta, Canada, looked at a fair pricing framework, wrestling with the tension between the interests of producers and consumers. He considered how you could set a price that is fair between the two, providing a positive surplus and balancing the interests of both, rather than winner takes all. The judges commended the theoretical simplicity and elegance of the proposal, which was well explained and grounded in basic economic principles.
- Mata Charokopou, Senior Director, Head of Global Access, Price and Value Strategy at UCB, submitted a truly interesting and innovative proposal, which one judge remarked showed “mind-blowing originality”. A creative proposal that looked at how to use tax and rebates between governments and manufacturers to try to improve allocative efficiency. Based on rigorous theoretical arguments, this proposal challenges the orthodoxy in the system.
- Alex Bates, Associate Director, Oncology Health Outcomes at GSK, was commended as highly original and compelling in his approach to overcoming the challenges in managed access agreements and risk-sharing schemes, attempting to improve the way uncertainty is managed.
- Aidan Hollis, Professor of Health Economics at the University of Calgary, Canada [giving Canada an impressive 50% hit rate in the shortlist!] and with experience in both industry and academia, proposed an Optional Delinked Reward System, an attempt to overcome existing challenges in pricing and reimbursement. We found delinkage an interesting concept. This approach combined innovation and pragmatism. Judges were attracted to its potential to tackle global access issues, allowing innovators to be rewarded at the local/national level, based on their ability to pay, solving access issues both within countries as well as internationally.
Attempting to overcome existing challenges in pricing and reimbursement through an optional delinkage system appealed to the panel due to its innovation, pragmatism, and global ambition. Because of this combination, the judges were in unanimous agreement in declaring Aidan Hollis the winner.
We were glad to see so many interesting, well-written, and innovative proposals, in particular the four finalists, and while the panel didn’t expect a silver bullet, the combination of ideas is powerful, highlighting areas of focus for further research.
The awarding of our first prize is only the first step. Firstly, all the solutions raise further questions and challenges. And this, of course, is the nature of incremental research where we subject all ideas to scrutiny, revision, and evolution.
With that in mind, we will continue to explore this topic over the coming year. Also, we’ll be launching the 2024 Prize – raising a whole new question and challenge – in a year’s time.
NEW INSIGHTS & OPPORTUNITIES
During an engaging discussion of Professor Aidan Hollis’ prizewinning proposal - an Optional Delinked Reward System (ODRS) - with Professor Adrian Towse, a range of potential benefits and remaining questions were explored.
Gene therapies pose fresh challenges for discounting practice by HTA agencies. In this Insight, we discuss why discounting is important for gene therapies, using a potential gene therapy for X-Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa (XLRP) as an example.
We actively support the next generation of health economists in a range of ways. If you are looking to undertake an MSc in Health Economics, apply for our Fellowship Programme with City, University of London by 30 April 2023.
NEW WEBSITE
We are delighted to highlight the launch of our new website. It has a fresher, more modern feel, as well as making our substantial archive of OHE research more accessible by providing additional ways to explore it through a range of topics.
Not only that, but as part of our 60 years, we have developed an interactive timeline, which charts the history of OHE and its role in the development of the field of health economics from 1962 through to the present day.
ON DEMAND EVENTS
On demand | Virtual
Drawing on global experience, our panel explored two key questions: Are we still overlooking the true value of vaccines? And is the Vaccine Task Force approach employed in the UK to tackle COVID-19 one to be emulated as we tackle four of our most pressing healthcare issues: cancer, obesity, mental health, and addiction.
Providing examples from the UK’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, the Department of Health and Social Care in England and OHE research on the global socio-economic value of vaccines, this webinar provides a deep dive into the world of Vaccines and Task Forces.
On demand | Virtual
In our final webinar of 2022, we reflected on the highlights of the past year, which OHE research trends had the biggest impact, and discussed the emerging issues in 2023.
Join our industry-leading experts as they reflect on; 60 years of OHE, the 'silent pandemic', Caring for carers, and Innovation, precision and value. The final presentation explores major policy issues including sustainability and digital health technologies, that OHE predicts will lead the field in 2023.
On demand | Hybrid
'How can policymakers design a system to generate fair prices that balances access and innovation throughout the lifecycle of medicines?'
Catch up on the 2022 OHE Innovation Policy Prize award ceremony, as the winner presented their solution – an original, globally feasible, and theoretically grounded piece of research. You will also hear from our expert judging panel who will discuss the challenges we’re facing regarding ‘fair pricing’ and the broader range of ideas and solutions we received.