The ISPOR 10th Annual European Congress was held on 20-23 October 2007 at the RDS Irish International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Dublin, Ireland, with a record 1,700 in attendance.

Michael Drummond, PhD, ISPOR 2007-2008 Past-President, Professor of Health Economics, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK., and 10th Annual European Congress Co-Chair, along with Michael Barry PhD, MD, Clinical Director, National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, St. James's Hospital & Senior Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, organized a thought-provoking Congress program.

Sunday 21 October
After pre-Congress Short Courses Saturday and Sunday morning, the Congress opened with 2007-2008 ISPOR President Diana Brixner, Congress Co-Chairs Michael Drummond and Michael Barry, and an added honor, Ireland's Minister of Health and Children, Mary Harney. During the First Plenary Session “Is Small Beautiful? Challenges Facing Ireland in Adopting the Fourth Hurdle,” moderated by Michael Drummond. Michael Barry discussed the goals of building a sustainable system of world class research teams in terms of people and supporting infrastructure in Ireland; John McLaughlin, Managing Director, sanofi-aventis Ireland Ltd., Dublin, Ireland, presented the need to integrate industrial and health policy to better balance innovation and cost containment, and ensure a HTA system that includes value and reward for innovation for the industry; and Ross Hattaway, Assistant Principal Officer, Primary Care II, Department of Health and Children, Dublin, Ireland, discussed control, access, flexibility, and new reforms in dispensing prescribing data for reviews and new agreement.

Workshop Sessions I & II were also held on Monday, as well as Poster Session I & Exhibits viewing.

Monday, 22 October
During the Second Plenary Session, moderated by Diane Wild MSc, Director, Oxford Outcomes, Cassington, Oxford, UK, titled, “Patient Reported Outcomes: A European Perspective. Mira Pavlovic MD, Coordinator of Scientific Advice, DEMEB, Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé (Afssaps), Saint-Denis Cedex, France, examined HRQL claims and the drug evaluation process. John Brazier PhD, Professor of Health Economics, The University of Sheffield, SCHARR, Sheffield, UK, in part, discussed issues in the use of generic preference-based measures. Clare McGrath, Senior Director, Outcomes Strategy - Europe, Canada, and Middle East, Pfizer, Tadworth, Surrey, UK, discussed decision making context for PROs; incorporating PROs in the label; relevance of PROs for reimbursement; and implications for the drug development process.

Congress attendees had another opportunity to attend Poster Session II and Exhibits and all Contributed Podium Sessions on Monday, as all four session were held exclusively on Monday, as well as the ISPOR Special Interest Group (SIG) and Task Force Forums.

ISPOR's attendees were truly treated to a very special Social Event this year, at the Guinness Storehouse in downtown Dublin. The event included a tour of the Guinness Brewery, Irish entertainment, dinner, and dancing as congress attendees networked with one another. Go raibh míle maith agat (thank you very much)! Tuesday 23 October The Third Plenary Session titled, “Conditional Reimbursement Based on Future Research,” moderated by Michael Drummond included speakers Dr. Kalipso Chalkidou, Associate Director, Research and Development, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), London, UK; Dr. Gepke Delwel, Senior Policy Advisor, CVZ Health Care Insurance Board, The Netherlands; Adrian Towse MA, MPhil, Director, Office of Health Economics, London, UK; and Mark Sculpher PhD, Professor of Health Economics, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK. Dr. Chalkidou stated government, researchers and funders, health care professionals, industry, patients & the public, and regulators needed to work together to expand the evidence base, while Dr. Delwel concluded that decisions are pragmatic and data should inform decision-makers and that steps needed to be taken to determine the threshold value needed. Dr. Towse concluded product experiments and general improvements are low in cost, simple to collect, a willingness to combine data, and that there should be investments in infrastructure and an ability to conduct RCTs, pragmatic trials, and observational data. Dr. Sculpher concluded that conditional reimbursement is potentially feasible when technology appears cost-effective on existing evidence; the appropriateness of conditional reimbursement depends on value of research versus its cost. Also, a reimbursement agency's role in research, the type of research, and the ethics and feasibility of the research, as well as the key role for risk sharing and who pays for the research is also a factor.

Issues Panel Sessions were also held on Tuesday, as well as Workshop Sessions III & IV, and the final viewing of posters and exhibits in Exhibits & Contributed Poster Presentations - Session III.

"The ISPOR Social event gives an excellent opportunity for members to network in a more relaxed environment. Moreover, the recent venues for the social event such as the Guinness brewery and the Washington DC boat cruise were very well chosen and have generated great interest, with several members scrambling for passes at the 11th hour,: says Ashish Joshi, PhD, MS, Senior Manager, Health Economics and Market Access Strategy, Novo Nordisk Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA. “The timing of the social event is perfect as well, as it provides a nice break in the very middle of a very busy conference."

ISPOR will gather again on May 3-7, 2008 in Toronto, ON, Canada for the ISPOR 13th Annual International Meeting. We hope to see you there and thanks for being part of ISPOR on the Emerald Isle!