Neil Hawkins, MSc, MBA, PhD, CStat is a Professor of Health Technology Assessment at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Previously, he was Vice President leading the global Health Economics practice at ICON PLC and a member of the board of directors at Oxford Outcomes Ltd. He has post-graduate degrees in pharmacology, health economics and applied statistics. He has worked in the pharma, academic, and consultancy sectors in roles spanning basic pharmacological research, clinical development, epidemiology, and health technology assessment. His current research and consultancy focuses on: evidence synthesis and decision-analytic modeling; precision medicine, and estimation of subgroup effects; the use of health technology assessment analyses to inform technology investment and development; and the efficient allocation of capital in pharmaceutical development. He has taught ISPOR short courses since 2008, is a member of the Statistical Methods Special Interest Group, and was part of the Indirect Comparisons Task Force.
ISPOR Vision Statement by Neil Hawkins, MSc, MBA, PhD, CStat
When I started my Master’s degree in Health Economics in York in 1999, I recall fellow students commenting that “cost-effectiveness analysis has no impact on decision-making” and that health economics is a “methodological Wild West.” Even if those comments were true then, they are certainly not true now. Health economic and outcomes research analyses conducted today have a rigorous grounding in decision-science, statistics, and psychometrics and these analyses have impact on decisions made by patients, physicians, payers, and technology developers. And this impact is global; the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) lists 53 members, the WHO has published guidelines on cost-effectiveness analysis, and the GATES Foundation funds the International Decision Support Initiative that supports global methodological and policy research. Since its inception in 1999, ISPOR has grown and played an important role in the development and promotion of outcomes research and health economic analysis. It provides forums for discussion and debate through its international conferences and chapters, publishes highly cited task force reports, and facilitates educational webinars and face-to-face training.
If elected director, I would strive to help ISPOR maintain and extend this important work, to seek new channels to inform and educate practitioners, and to continue to connect with a wide range of stakeholders. I am particularly excited about the potential for ISPOR and its members to share their experience in evaluation to help those who invest in and develop new technologies. These key stakeholders face difficult decisions regarding which programs should be funded and how studies should be designed. If we can help these key stakeholders improve the productivity of technology development, for example by reducing late stage failure rates, this would clearly benefit patients and society.