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The International Symposium on Health Technology Assessment (ISHTA) 2025 saw health experts underlining the importance of integrating Health Technology Assessment (HTA) into India's healthcare policy Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda highlighted that HTA India resource centers, which span 19 states, play a pivotal role in setting healthcare priorities, aiding in tuberculosis detection, optimizing costs, and incorporating evidence-based strategies into national health programsAmit Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, pointed out that HTA is critical in influencing doctors' prescribing habits and should be incorporated into medical training to ensure rational prescribing practices. He noted that HTA-based training for doctors would enhance the effectiveness of medicine prescriptions, optimizing healthcare outcomes
The Indian government is focusing on integrating Health Technology Assessment (HTA) as a key component of health policy research. The move is geared towards improving cost-effectiveness in the healthcare sector, shared Dr. Vinod Kumar Paul from NITI Aayog at the International Symposium on Health Technology Assessment (ISHTA) 2025“The science of HTA is taking deep roots in shaping govt policies and programs, including Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY, the flagship healthcare scheme). It plays a key role in determining health package rates and ensuring appropriate costing for healthcare services across 86 hospitals,” added Dr. Paul He emphasized that HTA is not just about cost-effectiveness but involves a comprehensive network of scientists, clinicians, and policymakers collaborating to ensure optimal healthcare decisions
Marco Marchetti, who is Co-Chair of the HTA Coordination Group & Director of the Health Technology Assessment Unit at the European Commission, has said that there is still space to apply for Joint Scientific Consultation (JSC), despite reports in the past that spaces are limitedSpeaking at the World Evidence, Pricing and Access (EPA) Congress in Amsterdam this week, Marchetti encouraged companies to apply for the consultation opportunities, viewing them as a way to improve the overall development process and increase the chances of success under the joint HTA initiativeAccording to NAVLIN Senior Consultant, Shivani Shah, his comment about remaining places for JSCs indicates that “companies are hesitant to apply for JSC, and seem to be using a wait and watch approach"
During day two of the World Evidence, Pricing and Access (EPA) Congress in Amsterdam, Alan Crowther, EVERSANA's General Manager of Global Pricing, Access, and Digital Solutions, discussed the intersection between global pharma policy and pricing trends, highlighting the increasingly widespread adoption of “price cutting by stealth” by governments around the world, that is making gross to net forecasting critically important – but also much more complexIn a provocative whistlestop tour of policy changes around the world, Crowther moved from the uncertainties of the IRA reform in the United States as well as the potential for the most favored nation (MFN) rule to come back from the dead, to ongoing reform initiatives in Japan, UK, Italy, Germany and China that bring a mixed bag of carrots for the industry offset by a tariffs, clawbacks, and price ceilingsThis triggered broader discussion within the room over the intersection between policy and pricing – a topic and conversation that then continued to reverberate around the conference as attendees sought to make sense of an increasingly volatile and uncertain global policy environment
Various industry leaders at the World Evidence, Pricing and Access (EPA) Congress in Amsterdam this week spoke about their experiences with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and their thoughts about the future of the Act Boehringer Ingelheim's Arup Pramanik believes the program is here to stay, based on feedback from colleagues, and hopes that it could increase transparency within U.S. healthcare industry, alongside legislation to reform pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) However, Alan Crowther, General Manager at EVERSANA, offered an alternate viewpoint, suggesting the IRA could be declared unconstitutional, opening the way for the reintroduction of the dropped Most Favored Nation (MFN) model, which is more in line with other markets' International Reference Pricing (IRP) practices
Speaking at the World Evidence, Pricing, and Access (EPA) Congress in Amsterdam, Helen Knight, Director of Medicines Evaluation at NICE, suggested that 12 years is “not an acceptable timeframe" for the roll-out of Mounjaro (tirzepatide) in the UK NICE’s standard guidance requires the NHS to fund approved treatments within three months. However, given the scale of change required for such a popular product, the NHS requested a 12-year Funding Variation, which was a “challenge for NICE, as it was for a product that we knew was good for patients and value for money for the taxpayer,” according to KnightKnight suggested that increasing affordability challenges in the future may increase the NHS’ requirement to trigger Funding Variation requests more frequently. She also noted that NICE is updating the process for evaluating and approving Funding Variation requests, working with system partners and industry
Despite ongoing reforms, the European pharmaceutical industry remains attractive to U.S. firms, according to EUCOPE Secretary General Alexander NatzHe revealed several U.S. companies recently confirmed plans to establish operations in Europe, even in the face of potential E.U. tariffs on pharma products from the U.S, and uncertainty around the EU HTA regulation and pharma legislation review He emphasized the stability of Germany's pharma market, but expressed concerns about access in smaller and lower-income markets such as Greece and Cyprus - in part, due to international reference pricing (IRP)
We’re on the ground for day one of the World EPA Congress at the RAI Center in Amsterdam. Industry leaders kicked off the conference by addressing the need for better collaboration across healthcare stakeholders, among other topics in a wide-ranging first morning Senior VP of U.S. Market Access at AstraZeneca, Chris Mancill, discussed the U.S's healthcare payer dynamics, noting the rising prominence of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss and diabetes. He stressed the reality of operating within limited healthcare budgets and the challenges of implementing value-based agreements in the U.S. healthcare marketThe adoption of AI in healthcare decision-making was another topic of discussion, as well as the growing demand for preventative healthcare products in LMICs - find out more below.
Speaking at the World Evidence, Pricing and Access (EPA) Congress in Amsterdam, Wim Goettsch, Special Advisor for HTA at the Dutch National Health Care Institute (Zorginstituut Nederland, ZIN) and Professor at Utrecht University, provided insights into SUSTAIN-HTA, an initiative aimed at reinforcing HTA methodologies to align with the European Regulation on Health Technology Assessment (EU HTAR)He stressed that HTA does not operate in isolation. "We are not living in a silo—this project is really linked to the outside world." He also highlighted ongoing work in real-world data (RWD) and evidence synthesis, emphasizing the importance of determining the appropriate methodologies for integrating RWD into HTA practice"Our mission is to provide a fair and well-balanced filter for all the new HTA methods developed by academic groups, research initiatives, etc.," Goettsch concluded. In time, the project hopes to establish a platform that all EU HTA bodies can join to support the future of HTA methodology
Speaking at the World Evidence, Pricing and Access (EPA) Congress in Amsterdam, Martina Garau, Director, Office of Health Economics (OHE) discussed the importance of understanding HTA reforms over timeGarau stressed the value of international collaborations among HTA agencies. These alliances bring about consistency in HTA guidelines and enable international leadership in methodological changes. However, the implementation of any possible reforms is influenced by the existing legislative and political factors in each countryLooking ahead, Garau believes in the need for stronger international collaboration to align HTA methodologies, ultimately enhancing decision-making. She stressed the need for early stakeholder involvement, and suggested that there is potential for greater alignment across borders in the future
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