Price Determinants and Pricing Policies Concerning Potentially Innovative Health Technologies: A Scoping Review

Speaker(s)

Xander N1, Belleman T2, Chen J1, Klein Gebbink AS3, Salcher-Konrad M4, Schneider P5, Hendrickx A6, Morgan K7, Groene O8, Durand-Zaleski I9, Thielen F10, Uyl-De Groot CA11
1Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2Erasmus University Rotterdam, Amsterdam, NH, Netherlands, 3Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands, 4WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Policies, Gesundheit Österreich (Austrian National Public Health Institute/GÖG), Wien, 9, Austria, 5WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Policies, Gesundheit Österreich (Austrian National Public Health Institute/GÖG), Vienna, Austria, 6The International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (AIM), Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, 7Myeloma Patients Europe, Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, 8OptiMedis, Hamburg, HH, Germany, 9Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France, 10Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management (ESHPM), Rotterdam, Netherlands, 11Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Presentation Documents

OBJECTIVES: Policymakers face challenges in developing pricing policies for potentially innovative healthcare technologies (pIHTs) that balance impact healthcare budgets, access, and incentives for innovation. This study aimed to map existing evidence and identify knowledge gaps regarding price determinants and pricing policies for pIHTs across member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the OECD, and their effect on access and sustainability.

METHODS: We conducted a scoping review of scientific and grey literature in English published between 2014 and September 2023 with pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify price determinants relevant to stakeholders, as well as pricing policies applied by EEA/OECD member states, and their access-related impacts. Databases searched included MEDLINE via Ovid, Embase, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and BASE. Moreover, various stakeholder organization websites were searched. Further records were included through snowballing and manual addition.

RESULTS: Out of 13,191 identified records, 134 were included for data extraction. Stakeholder views on price determinants, while infrequently stated (n=15), predominantly involved value-based determinants. Pricing policies in EEA/OECD member states are heterogeneous: free pricing, price referencing, and value-informed pricing, as well as price negotiations, multi-indication pricing and orphan drug pricing are employed methods. Often, a mix of several methods is applied. External price referencing, while considered to yield short-term affordability improvements, is associated with inequities and launch strategies impairing patient access. Policies combining pricing methods and considering a pIHT’s value have more positive access-related impact, and are viewed favorably by stakeholders, though they may face feasibility and implementation challenges. Two records mentioned medical device pricing policies; none featured environmental aspects regarding pIHT pricing.

CONCLUSIONS: Value-informed pricing practices across Europe in connection with health technology assessment are favored for pIHTs, although not generalized. We found knowledge gaps regarding medical device pricing, stakeholder views on pricing determinants, and the implementation of environmental aspects in pIHT pricing.

Code

HPR237

Topic

Health Policy & Regulatory, Study Approaches

Topic Subcategory

Literature Review & Synthesis, Pricing Policy & Schemes

Disease

Drugs, No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas