OBJECTIVES: Living HTA has been suggested as an innovative approach to address challenges in the current HTA processes. We investigated the validity of LiveSLR® and LiveNMA™ tools in supporting the Living HTA concept by creating efficiencies while replicating and updating the NMA used in ICER’s RRMM class review.

METHODS: LiveSLR® is an up-to-date Cochrane/NICE-compliant curated library of systematic literature reviews (SLRs) following PRISMA standards and separated by indication. LiveSLR® is maintained with real-time updates by a team of trained HEOR professionals. LiveNMA™ is an R-based tool that performs Bayesian NMAs for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in RRMM published at the time of ICER’s 2016 report were systematically selected from the LiveSLR® library. The LiveNMA™ tool was used to perform the NMA and results (network, hazard ratios, and ranking) were compared to ICER’s original report. Then, both the review and analyses were updated with new evidence identified through April 2022 and observations were made regarding efficiencies in the process and impact on results.

RESULTS: All studies in the ICER report were readily available in the LiveSLR® library and LiveNMA™ was able to replicate ICER’s findings in under 10 minutes. In addition, the real-time LiveSLR® library contained 22 new trials of 23 new regimens published since the original ICER report. The updated NMA showed daratumumab-bortezomib-dexamethasone, isatuximab-carfilzomib-dexamethasone, and daratumumab-carfilzomib-dexamethasone as the three highest-ranking regimens. The NMA update took 10 minutes to perform, creating significant efficiencies in analyses.

CONCLUSIONS: This use-case showed that LiveSLR®/LiveNMA™ can 1) replicate the results produced by ICER; and 2) provide up-to-date and high-quality results with limited effort. Living HTA can only become a reality through the adoption of automated tools and platforms such as LiveSLR®/LiveNMA™. More research is required to understand payer’s challenges in routine integration of such tools in their processes.