October 2006

ISPOR e-BULLETIN provides updates of recent ISPOR activities and events. For detailed information on ISPOR activities, members are encouraged to go to www.ispor.org. Please share these new ISPOR activities with your colleagues.

NEW THIS MONTH

**NEW** ISPOR 9th European Congress-UPDATES-OVER 650 PRESENTATIONS

**NEW** Short Courses for 9th European Congress-UPDATES

**NEW** ISPOR BOARD, COMMITTEE, AND TASK FORCE ACTIVITIES-UPDATES

**NEW** LOCAL CHAPTER, ADVISORY COUNCIL, AND ASIA CONSORTIUM NEWS-UPDATES

**NEW** 38 New Positions at the ISPOR Website

**NEW** Associate/Assistant Professor Position available at McMaster University

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

Ų 28-31 October 2006 - ISPOR 9^th Annual European Congress, Radisson SAS Falconer Hotel & Conference Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

ISPOR ONGOING ACTIVITIES

1. Publications

2. Meetings and Congresses

3. Educational Activities

4. Student News

5. ISPOR Special Interest Groups

6. Committee and Task Force Activities

7. Advisory Council, Asia Consortium and Local Chapter News

8. Employment in Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research

9. Membership

1. PUBLICATIONS

VALUE IN HEALTH

VALUE IN HEALTH "ON-LINE EARLY" MANUSCRIPTS

Manuscripts for Volume 9, Issue 6 are now posted. To view these "On-Line Early" manuscripts, simply go to http://www.ispor.org/valueinhealth_index.asp, log on using your membership information, and follow the link.

2. ISPOR MEETINGS AND CONGRESSES

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ISPOR 9th ANNUAL EUROPEAN CONGRESS

Radisson SAS Falconer Hotel & Conference Center

Copenhagen, Denmark , 28-31 October 2006

For more 9^th Annual European Congress program info, go to:

http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/index.asp

To register for the Congress, go to: http://www.ispor.org/members/events/closed.asp

Posters and Podiums

More than 650 presentations from authors representing 45 different countries will be presented at the ISPOR 9^th Annual European Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark!

Poster Session I: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/posters1.asp

Poster Session II: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/posters2.asp

Poster Session III: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/posters3.asp

Podium Session I-IV: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/103006.asp#PodiumS1

For poster and podium presentation information, go to: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/presenters_index.asp

ISPOR Contributed Issue Panels:

For complete details on Issue Panels, go to: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/issue_panels.asp#ips1

ISPOR Contributed Workshops:

For complete details on Workshops, go to: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/workshops.asp#ws1

PLENARY SESSIONS

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) as a Basis for Reimbursement and Priorities in Health Care

"Priority Decisions - The Authority Challenge"

Speaker: Audun Hågå MSc , Deputy Director General, Ministry of Health, Oslo, Norway

Society can not cover what the individual patient regards as "best possible treatment"

How do authorities make good priority decisions?
What are the implications for the pharmaceutical industry?

HTA principles adopted by EFPIA and an update on industry's input to the EU High Level Group Pharmaceutical Forum will be presented.

For more information go to: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/102906.asp

Evidence Based Medicine (EBM): Time for Asking Critical Questions

Fourcontentious issues surrounding evidence-based medicine will be debated:

· EBM is primarily a method for clinical decisions, not for health policy

· The superiority of RCT and MA is based on a dogma, not scientific proof

· The Cochrane collaboration is an anti-industry movement

· There is no evidence that EBM improves people's health.

For more information go to: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/103006.asp

Looking for Willingness to Pay (WTP)Threshold for a QALY -- Does it make sense?

The main obstacles involved in establishing one unique willingness to pay (WTP) estimatefor the value of a QALY are presented and the following argument debated:

· Cost-effectiveness analyses are only useful if they can be related to a relevant cost-effectiveness threshold. In any health care system with a predetermined budget, social WTP values are interesting but irrelevant: the key factor is the opportunity cost at the margin of the budget.

For more information go to: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/103106.asp

**PROGRAM UPDATES**

ISPOR FORUMS

Monday,31 October 2006, 17:00-18:00

PATIENT REGISTRY SIG FORUM

Moderator: Jeffrey Trotter MM , Chair, ISPOR PR SIG & President,Ovation Research Group, Highland Park, IL, USA. Speakers: David Schwicker, Managing Partner,OUTCOMES International. Basil, Switzerland; Gabor Vinzce PhD, BS, MSc , Health Economic manager, Novartis Pharma AG, Basil, Switzerland

As new drugs and medical devices & diagnostics are introduced in multiple countries, the need to assess these health care interventions in a ‘real world' environment is becoming more important. The use of monitoring tools such as registries, application-protocols, and post-marketing studies is increasing. During this forum the challenges in developing and implementing patient registries such as country-to-country cultural & language differences, patient confidentiality, registry implementation, and other issues will be discussed. The goal of the ISPOR Patient Registry Special Interest Group is to identify strategy and design issues relating to patient registries in specific countries and globally.

ISPOR PATIENT REPORTED OUTCOMES SIG FORUM

Moderator: Judith Barr MEd, ScD, Chair, ISPOR PRO SIG & Associate Professor and Director, National Education and Research Center for Outcomes Assessment, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA. Speakers: Patrick Marquis MBA, MD, Chair, ISPOR PRO / QOL Information in Regulatory and Health Decisions Working Group, PRO SIG & Managing Director, Mapi Values, Boston, MA, USA ; Diane Wild MSc, Chair, ISPOR Cross-Cultural & Translational Adaptation Working Group, PRO SIG & Partner, Oxford Outcomes, Oxford, UK; PRO SIG e-PRO Working Group Leader (tbd)

The patients' perspective has never been more important in medical evaluations and interventions. Clinical researchers are routinely incorporating Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) assessments in trial programs and health-care providers are increasingly considering PRO information for taking decisions on treatment and patient management. During this forum the ISPOR Patient Reported Outcomes SIG PRO / QOL Information in Regulatory and Health Decisions Working Group, the e-PRO and the Cross-Cultural Translational Adaptation Working Groups will inform and provide a review of recent actions.

ISPOR RUSSIAN CHAPTER FORUM

Speakers : Pavel Vorobiev PhD, President of RSPOR & Professor, Moscow Medical Academy named after Sechenov, Head of the Research Department on Health Care Standardization Problems, Moscow, Russia; Maria Avksentieva, Chief of Pharmacoeconomics Research Department of RSPOR & Assistant Professor of Health Care Management Faculty, Moscow Medical Academy named after Sechenov, Moscow, Russia; Maria Sura, Executive Director of RSPOR, Aventis Pharma Russia, Moscow, Russia; Marilyn Dix Smith RPh, PhD, Founding Executive Director of ISPOR, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA

This forum addresses the general questions of economic evaluation of drug supply at the regional level (with specific examples from some of the regions) and the carrying out of interregional pharmacoeconomics research in Russia. The presentation will be devoted to comparative analysis of several drugs included into reimbursement programs in Russia. Problems concerning the inclusion of expensive drugs and the underlined problems therein will be discussed. The formation of a formulary system in medical institutions, using federal drug lists as basic documents for forming Formulary in the medical institutions, and using the VEN-analysis methodology will also be covered. The forum will then turn to activities of the ISPOR Russia Local Chapter (RSPOR) for the past year.

STUDENT FORUM

Working as A Health Economist in A Foreign Country - What You Need To Know About How to Adapt and Succeed

Moderator: Zeba Khan PhD , Executive Director, Pricing, General Medicines, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ USA. Speaker: Veronica Sendersky PharmD, Health Economist, Ferring International PharmaScience Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

Relocating as a health economist to another country can be a very trying time since different countries have different health systems that must be made must be familiar to a health economist. This forum will give advice and insight on how to adjust to the current system and to be successful in dealing with health economies in different countries.

ECONOMIC DATA TRANSFERABILITY GOOD RESEARCH PRACTICES TASK FORCE FORUM

Moderator: Michael Drummond PhD , Professor of Health Economics, University of York, Heslington, York, UK

Now that many more jurisdictions require economic data in support of pricing or reimbursement decisions, the challenges for those producing these data are greatly increased. In this forum the following topics will be discussed (i) how specific are the data needs of various decision-makers
(ii) to what extents can any differences in requirements be justified or explained.

RECEPTION AT THE COPENHAGEN TOWN HALL – ISPOR NETWORKING EVENT

Monday,30 October 2006 20:00-21:30

Join us as we are welcomed by the Lord Mayor of the wonderful city of Copenhagen. Enjoy a buffet while exploring the beautiful architecture, sculptures, and paintings throughout this historical building, as well as exploring the Town Hall Square.

**EVENT FREE TO ALL CONGRESS ATTENDEES-REGISTRATION REQUIRED**

To register for this special event, go to: http://www.ispor.org/members/events/closed.asp

3. EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

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ISPOR SHORT COURSES PRIOR TO THE ISPOR 9^TH ANNUAL EUROPEAN CONGRESS – 28-29 OCTOBER 2006

Sixteen short courses including 5 NEW courses will be given this year, with 9 courses on Saturday, 28 October 2006, and 7 courses on Sunday, 29 October 2006.

SATURDAY, 28 OCTOBER 2006

Application of Item Response Theory in Patient Outcomes Measurement

Faculty: Jakob Bjorner, MD, PhD, Chief Science Officer, QualityMetric Inc., Lincoln, RI, USA

Case Studies in Pharmaceutical/Biotech Pricing II - Advanced

Faculty: Jack Mycka, President, Optimar Strategic Consulting LLC, Montclair, NJ, USA; Renato Dellamano PhD, President, ValueVector (Value Added Business Strategies), Milan, Italy

Instrument Development and Evaluation for Patient-Reported Outcomes Assessment

Faculty: Andrew Lloyd M. Phil, Research Scientist and Deputy Director, United BioSource Health Care Analytics Group-Europe, London, UK; Patricia van Hanswijck de Jonge PhD, MSc; Senior Research Associate, Health Care Analytics Group, United BioSource Corporation, London, UK

For full descriptions of ALL Saturday short courses, please visit: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/sc102806.asp

SUNDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2006

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis alongside Clinical Trials

Faculty: Scott Ramsey MD, PhD , Full Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA; Henry Glick PhD, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Pharmacoeconomic Modeling - Advanced

Faculty: Prof.Uwe Siebert, MD, MPH, MSc, ScD , Professorof Public Health; Head of the Department of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment, University of Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall/Innsbruck, Austria; Bernhard Bornschein MD, MPH, Senior Scientist, UMIT, Hall/Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria; Alexander Göhler MD, Senior Scientist, MGH-Institute for Technology Assessment, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

For full descriptions of ALL Sunday short courses, please visit: http://www.ispor.org/congresses/denmark1006/sc102906.asp

4. STUDENT NEWS

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For more details on the ISPOR Student Network, please visit: http://www.ispor.org/student/student_index.asp

5. ISPOR SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (SIG)

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SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS are very important to ISPOR to achieve its mission. Their goals are to: develop consensus; stimulate debate; advance knowledge/understanding; publish good research practices; develop indices & tools for researchers and decision-makers; compile health care information for public; respond to health care public policy.

HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT IN EVIDENCE-BASED REIMBURSEMENT SIG

TRANSLATING RESEARCH TO PRACTICE SIG

PATIENT REGISTRY SIG

MEDICATION COMPLIANCE & PERSISTENCE SIG

RETROSPECTIVE DATABASE SIG

PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOMES SIG

RISK MANAGEMENT SIG

To learn more about ISPOR's Special Interest Groups, go to: http://www.ispor.org/sigs/sigsindex.asp

6. ISPOR BOARD, COMMITTEE, AND TASK FORCE ACTIVITIES

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TASK FORCE ACTIVITIES

DRUG COST GOOD RESEARCH PRACTICES TASK FORCE FORUM

The Drug Cost Task Force is divided up into eight different subgroups to review drug pricing methods both internationally and in the US. Based on the recommendations of each subgroup a paper on best practices for using drug costs in pharmacoeconomic studies will be published in Value in Health. The subgroups are:

Industry Working Group

Chair: Jack Mycka, President, Optimar Strategic Consulting, Montclair, NJ, USA

Institutional Working Group

Chair: Lorne Basskin PharmD, Director, Pharmacy Services, Healthsouth Sunrise Rehab Hospital, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

Managed Care Working Group

Chair: Ed Mansley PhD, Health Economist, Merck & Co., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA

Medicaid Working Group

Chair: Brian Seal PhD, RPh, MBA, Head of Respiratory, sanofi-aventis, Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA

Medicare Working Group

Chair: C. Daniel Mullins PhD, Professor & Chair, Pharma Health Research Services, University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, USA

Patient/Societal Working Group

Co-Chairs: Leslie Wilson PhD, Associate Adjunct Professor, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA and Lou Garrison PhD, Professor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

International Working Group

Chair: Lizheng Shi PhD, MS, Assistant Professor, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

European Working Group

Co-Chairs: Michael Drummond PhD, Professor of Health Economics, University of York, Heslington, York, UK and Anita Burrell MBA, Head Pricing and Reimbursement, Global Health Outcomes and Market Access, sanofi-aventis, Paris, France

For more on this Task Force, please visit: http://www.ispor.org/workpaper/drug_cost_TF.asp

7. ADVISORY COUNCIL, ASIA CONSORTIUM, AND LOCAL CHAPTER NEWS

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ADVISORY COUNCIL

For more details on ISPOR Advisory Councils, please visit: www.ispor.org

ASIA CONSORTIUM

For more details on this consortium, please visit: http://www.ispor.org/consortiums/asia.asp

ISPOR 3rd Asia-Pacific Conference 7-9 September 2008, Grand Hilton Seoul, Seoul, South Korea

Theme: Evidence-Based Health Care Decision Making In Asia Pacific: The Application of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research.

LOCAL CHAPTERS

For more details on ISPOR local chapters, please visit http://www.ispor.org/local_chapters/index.asp

8. EMPLOYMENT

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**NEW**

38 POSITIONS LISTED AT THE ISPOR WEBSITE: http://www.ispor.org/employment/index.aspx

Advertise your positions on the ISPOR Website (~1 million hits per month)

INTERNSHIPS

Visit ISPOR's Internship-Professional Recruitment Assistance Program (I-PRAP) at http://www.ispor.org/iprap/index.asp STUDENTS: Post your CVs/resumes for employers to view and search for internship positions available. Nine student resumes posted! EMPLOYERS: Post your Intern positions for FREE and access CVs/resumes from students. If you have any questions, please contact: iprap@ispor.org.
For more information, visit our website at: http://www.ispor.org/iprap/index.asp.

**NEW**

Associate/Assistant Professor Position available at McMaster University

HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

Centre for Evaluation of Medicines, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics,

Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton

We are seeking exceptional candidates to fill a key position in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) at the Associate/ Assistant Professor level. The appointment will be contractually limited to three years in the first instance but with high likelihood of renewal and extension in this rapidly growing area of research. You must have a Ph.D. or equivalent in Health Economics or a related quantitative discipline of evaluative health services research. We are looking for a strong track record in peer reviewed funding/publication and/or other evidence of research leadership in HTA. As well, we are particularly interested in candidates with quantitative skills and experience in decision analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis and simulation modeling in the context of health technology assessment. A strong track record of collegiality and collaboration are prerequisites for this position. You will work as an investigator in our innovative Program for the Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH), funded in part by a $3 million grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Also, you will teach in the Health Research Methodology Graduate Program and/or other educational programs of the Department.

McMaster University is "research intensive" and perennially rated as the most innovative university in Canada. The successful candidate will join over 40 full-time/joint faculty and 150 research/administrative staff in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CE&B). The Department enjoys an

international reputation in the areas of clinical effectiveness research, evidence-based medicine,

biostatistics, population health (community, occupational, and environmental), health economics, health services research, health policy analysis, and health informatics. For more information about CE&B, the Centre for Evaluation of Medicines, the Faculty of Health Sciences, St. Joseph's Healthcare and PATH, visit: www.fhs.mcmaster.ca/ceb/, www.thecem.net, www.fhs.mcmaster.ca, www.stjosham.on.ca and www.path-hta.ca respectively.

Applicants will be accepted until a suitable candidate is appointed. Applicants are invited to submit a cover letter of application, curriculum vitae, and contact details for three referees to:

R. Brian Haynes MD, PhD

Chair, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Faculty of Health Sciences

1200 Main Street West

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5

Tel. 905-525-9140 ext. 24931

E-mail: bhaynes@mcmaster.ca

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be considered first for this position. McMaster University is strongly committed to employment equity within its community and to recruiting a diverse faculty and staff. The University encourages application from all qualified candidates, including women, members of visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, members of sexual minorities, and persons with disabilities.

"An equal opportunity employer"

9. ISPOR MEMBERSHIP

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Update your contact information and email address at: https://www.ispor.org/members/addresschange.asp !

Your email address is required as part of your log-in information in the members only section of the ISPOR website.