Hemant Phatak, PhD is head, global health economics and outcomes research (GHEOR) at Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on difficult-to-treat neurodegenerative diseases. Over his pharma/biotech/CRO tenures spanning 20 years, he has supported prelaunch and perilaunch assets including targeted and immuno-oncology therapies, rare diseases (including ultra-rare), atherosclerosis, cardiovascular, and metabolism areas. His passion lies in developing global market access and evidence generation strategies for innovative technologies with intent to bring these alternatives to patients and their families. He is a well-published researcher with 60+ articles and more than 150+ abstracts. Hemant holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences with emphasis in Health Economics and Outcomes Research from Purdue University (boilermaker for life) and completed his Merck post-doctoral fellowship from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Hemant has been active with ISPOR since joining it in 1999 as a young graduate student. He founded the Purdue University ISPOR Student Chapter in 2005. In addition to being a reviewer for ISPOR conference and Value for Health, he also served as a co-chair for Issues Panels Review Committee in 2019 and Issue Panel and Workshop Committee in 2020. He has been a member of the ISPOR Institutional Council since 2018 and was its Chair from 2022-2023. During his tenure as an Institutional Council Chair, the Council started several new initiatives with the help of ISPOR Chief Science Office including the Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) initiative, which has now morphed into a cross-council DEI working group. Some of the notable achievements of this group includes holding the first-ever DEI forum at ISPOR 2022, successful implementation of the inaugural work-force diversity coaching event at ISPOR 2023, DEI booth event, and a European DEI kick-off meeting at ISPOR Europe 2023, and inclusion of DEI principles in the competency framework (ongoing). Currently, Hemant is serving as past Institutional Council Chair on the Healthcare Science Policy Council. He is also member engagement co-chair for the newly formed Global Market Access to Innovations Special Interest Group. In addition, he is leading the newly formed Drug Price Negotiation work-stream. ISPOR recognized his cross-council collaborative efforts with a Distinguished Service Award in 2023.
Hemant is proof positive of the personal and professional development that ISPOR provides its members. Through its education, networking, career opportunities, and showcase of HEOR talents, ISPOR has given Hemant a home to develop and blossom into the successful leader that he is today. Now in the principle of “paying it forward,” Hemant approaches his service and Board of Directors application. Hemant, if elected as a member of the ISPOR Borad, will provide an inspiration to future leaders in the ISPOR student chapters, industry, and community at large to aspire to similar service, positions of responsibility and leadership.
ISPOR Vision Statement by Hemant Phatak
In the current volatile and dynamic era of the Drug Price Negotiation (DPN) under Inflation Reductions Act (IRA) in the United States and the joint clinical assessment in Europe, continued access to innovative medicines will increasingly become evidence-based with high degree of uncertainty at the time of regulatory approvals. This will create unprecedented challenges to ISPOR’s mission of promoting HEOR excellence in healthcare decision-making. Rapid integration of the new drivers (affordability, digital health, whole health, and value-driven innovation proposed by the Health Science Policy Council) into the ISPOR proceedings would be crucial for ISPOR to maintain its strong scientific bend while addressing very real transactional issues experienced by patients and healthcare decision makers around the world.
If elected as an incoming Board of Directors member, I will collaborate with the fellow Board members and ISPOR leadership to shape ISPOR strategy and plan of action that will help it adapt to these new trends in our field. Deeper member engagement is going to be key, as ISPOR will need to bring its different councils and work-streams together to address the long-term challenges. I will leverage my extensive understanding of ISPOR institutional work culture from my days as a Chair of the ISPOR Institutional Council, where I have led the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiative and my current experience as a leader of the DPN work-stream and as a member engagement lead for the Global Market Access to Innovation Special Interest Group.
My 2 decades of experience in the pharma/biotech/CRO will help me bring diverse multistakeholder perspectives to the table as a Board member. This also helps me straddle the issues like affordability and value-driven innovation in a balanced manner that represents the diverse ISPOR diaspora. Excellence in healthcare decision making stems from both justification of the value of new medicines and equitable access to essential medicines. As a Board member, I will ensure that ISPOR has addressed both these issues in a fair and balanced manner.
In the era of artificial intelligence and digital health, it is important that ISPOR strives to modernize and harmonize members’ skill sets. This can be achieved by systematic implementation of the updated competency framework. Having been part of this work-stream in an advisory capacity, I have no doubt that ISPOR Education and Health Science Policy Councils are well-positioned to undertake the mammoth endeavor of implementing the updated framework across its chapters.
Lastly, as a big fan of the servant leadership model, I plan to roll up my sleeves and continue collaborating on various ISPOR initiatives while fulfilling my duties as a Board member. Specifically, through DPN, I plan to get members involved in the revamped definition of value and demonstrating the impact of the IRA on innovation. Similarly, we can actively engage with ISPOR to address various challenges experienced in our field today. The current dynamic environment has presented ISPOR with an opportunity to make its impact as a premier scientific organization at the forefront of evidence-based medicine for all patients across the globe.