Celebrating ten years of bridging research and practice, the ISPOR Annual International Meeting, held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC, USA, included celebrations of ISPOR’s 10th anniversary. Over 1300 attendees from 33 different countries joined in a week’s-long worth of festivities, as well as participated in the technical sessions and scientific matter in which attendees have grown accustomed to at ISPOR Annual International Meetings.

Sunday, May 15, 2005
After a full weekend of pre-meeting short courses and activities, the ISPOR Student Network ended the day with the Student Ice Breaker Reception (sponsored by University of Texas Pharmacoeconomics Center & College of Pharmacy). With more than 200 students registered for the meeting, attendance was impressive as games and door prizes helped ‘break the ice’ when greeting new student attendees. Also held on Sunday evening, was the Bernie J. O’Brien Benefit Dinner. This benefit dinner was held in honor of the late Bernie J. O’Brien, a leading researcher in the field of economic evaluation, in support of The Lucy and Emma O’Brien Trust Fund, which was established to support the future higher education of Bernie’s two daughters, Lucy and Emma. This benefit dinner included live entertainment from ISPOR’s musically inclined members, as well as a raffle of donated gifts.

Monday, May 16, 2005
The day began at 8:00 AM, with J. Jaime Caro MD, Scientific Director, Caro Research, Concord, MA, USA and ISPOR Program Committee Chair, welcoming all meeting attendees. Lieven Annemans PhD, MSc, Mman, ISPOR 2004-2005 President, Director, HEDM and Professor of Health Economics, University of Ghent, Meise, Belgium, then delivered the Presidential Address. The First Plenary Session, “Current Dilemmas in Translating Research to Practice,” was moderated by Marilyn Dix Smith RPh, PhD, Founding Executive Director, ISPOR, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA. Daniel Kahneman PhD, Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology; Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, Princeton, Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, 2002, gave his talk, “Determinants of Health Economic Decisions in Actual Practice: The Role of Behavioral Economics”. This plenary session addressed US legislation concerning Medicare Drug Benefit Plan and the use of cost-effectiveness and outcomes research information in drug selection decisions. After a thirty-minute break and viewing of the Poster Presentations - Session I and Exhibits (break sponsored by RTI Health Solutions), attendees chose one of four concurrent Podium Sessions covering health care policy studies, cancer, methods and concepts, and Musculoskeletal Diseases/ Disorders.

The First Plenary Session, “Current Dilemmas in Translating Research to Practice”

After a brief 15-minute break, Issues Panels were held on topics Health Policy/Health Care Reimbursement/Coverage Issues: Should Manufacturers Consult With CMS Staff On The Phase III Study Design, As Cms Is Now Requesting? with moderator Diane Simison PhD, Executive Director, MEDTAP Center for Pricing and Reimbursement, Arlington, VA, USA, and panelists Steve Phurrough MD, MPA, Director, Coverage Analysis Group, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD, USA; Beth A. Hahn PhD, Managing Director, MEDTAP Center for Pricing and Reimbursement, Arlington, VA USA; AMCP Format For Formulary Submissions: Perspectives On Dossier Preparation And Review with moderator Shahnaz Khan MPH, Health Outcomes Communications Specialist, RTI Health Solutions, RTP, NC, USA, with panelists Iris Tam PharmD, Medical Communication Scientist, Genentech, Inc, San Francisco, CA, USA, and David Clark RPh, MBA, Vice President Pharmacy Services, The Regence Group/Regenceflex, Portland, OR, USA; Issues on Use of Health Outcomes Research Information by Decision- Makers: Use Of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis In The Us Medicare Program And Lessons From Other Payors with moderator Penny Mohr MA, Health Economist, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD, USA, and panelists Christopher McCabe PhD, Senior Lecturer, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK; Bernard Bloom PhD, Research Professor, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; and Outcomes Research (Economic, Clinical, Humanistic) Issues: Do We Need Disease-Specific Reference Cases For Economic Evaluation? with moderator Michael Drummond PhD, Director, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, UK, and panelists Peter Tugwell, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Mark Sculpher MSc, PhD, Professor, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, UK; and Andreas Maetzel, Scientist, General Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.

AMCP Format Issues Panel: Shahnaz Khan MPH (l), David Clark RPh, MBA, and Iris Tam PharmD

After Lunch (sponsored by Caro Research), Exhibits, Grand Opening of Contributed Poster Presentations Viewing, and ISPOR 10th Anniversary Celebration cake-cutting ceremony, attendees disbursed into Contributed Workshops Presentations. The seven scientific tracks discussed where Adherence/Compliance Issues, Clinical Study Methodology Issues, Cost Study Methodology Issues, Formulary Development Research Issues, QOL/PRO/Preference-based Studies/ Methodology Issues, Health Care Policy Development Issues, and Risk Assessment/Risk Management Issues.

ISPOR Patient Registry SIG Forum

Later in the day, the ISPOR Forums took place, which included the ISPOR Patient Registry Special Interest Group, Medication Compliance Special Interest Group, Health Science Policy Council, and Student Network forums. The ISPOR Patient Registry Special Interest Group forum, Patient Registries: Opportunity And Responsibility was moderated by Jeffrey Trotter MM, President, Ovation Research Group, Highland Park, IL, USA, with speakers Melva T. Covington MPH, MBA, PhD, Team Leader, Global Health Outcomes Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA, Mohan Bala PhD, Director, Outcomes Research Centocor, Inc, Malvern, PA, USA, Peter Malamis MBA, Vice-President & General Manager, Post- Marketing Business Unit, Scirex, Horsham, PA, USA, Hugh Levaux PhD, CEO, Ninaza, San Mateo, CA, USA, and Leanne Larson MHA, Vice President, Strategy & Development, Ovation Research Group, Highland Park, IL, USA; the Medication Compliance Special Interest Group forum was moderated by Joyce Cramer, BS, Medication Compliance SIG Chair & Associate Research Scientist, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, West Haven, CT, USA, with speakers Peter K. Wong PhD, MBA, RPh, Definitions Working Group Co-Chair & Vice President, Clinical Effectiveness & PI, Good Samaritan Hospital, Dayton, OH, USA; Anita Burrell, MA, MBA, Definitions Working Group Co-Chair & Global Health Outcomes & Market Access Director, Sanofi-Aventis, Bridgewater, NJ, USA, Michael B. Nichol PhD Analyses Standards Working Group Chair & Department of Pharmaceutical Economics & Policy Chair, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Rachel Elliott PhD, Economics of Compliance Working Group Leadership Group, Harkness Fellow, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA, Andrea Adamus, PhD, Research Specialist, Dept Pharmacoeconomics, Div Pharmacy, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA, Hieu T. Tran, PharmD, Chairman, Clinical Division, LECOM School of Pharmacy, Erie, PA, USA, and Jasmanda Wu, PhD, Sanofi- Aventis, Bridgewater, NJ, USA; the Health Policy Science Council forum was moderated by Jean Paul Gagnon PhD, RPh, Director, Public Policy, Santi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc, Bridgewater, NJ, USA; and the Student Forum was moderated by Zeba M. Khan PhD, RPh, Head of Health Economics & Pricing Strategy, Cardiovascular and Metabolism Business Franchise, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland and Larry Humble RPh, Disease Management Consultant, University of Louisiana at Monroe, School of Pharmacy, Monroe, LA, USA, with speakers Kim Caldwell, RPh, Director, Division of Clinical & Economic Performance, Medicare Drug Benefit Group, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD, USA, and Stephen Motsko PharmD, PhD, The Degge Group, LTD, Arlington, VA, USA.

After the Forums, the ISPOR Business Meeting was held. To end the first day of the 10th Annual International Meeting, attendees were invited to the Exhibit Hall for the Exhibitors’ Open House Reception (sponsored by The MEDTAP Institute at UBC), Poster Presentations, and 10th Anniversary Celebrations, which gave a chance for attendees enjoy live entertainment. AMCP Format Issues Panel: Shahnaz Khan MPH (l), David Clark RPh, MBA, and Iris Tam PharmD ISPOR Patient Registry SIG Forum

Tuesday, May 17, 2005
The second day of the 10th Annual International Meeting began with concurrent Podium Sessions on the four scientific tracks of health care policy studies, infections, quality-of live-studies, and respiratory diseases.

Peer Review Process Issues Panel: Chris Carswell BSc, MSc (l), C. Daniel Mullins PhD, Alan
Lyles MPH, RPh, and Josephine Mauskopf PhD

After a 15-minute break, the ISPOR Issues Panels-Session II was held, which covered Health Policy/Health Care Reimbursement/Coverage Issues: Will CMS Begin to use Economic Data to Evaluate New Technologies for Medicare Coverage? moderated by Diane Simison PhD, Co-Executive Director, The MEDTAP Istitute at UBC, Arlington, VA, USA, with panelists Ruben King-Shaw MA, President, The Solutions Institute, Bethesda, MD USA, and Robert Navarro, PharmD, Executive Advisory Group, Campbell Alliance, Raleigh, NC, USA; Issues on Use of Health Outcomes Research Information by Decision-Makers: The Peer Review Process: How Editors Draw The Line Between Science And Advertising moderated by C. Daniel Mullins PhD, Director, Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, USA, with panelists Chris Carswell BSc, MSc, Editor, Pharmacoeconomics, Mairangi Bay, Auckland, New Zealand; Alan Lyles MPH, RPh, Professor, University of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA, and Josephine Mauskopf PhD, Value in Health Editor-in-Chief & VP, Health Economics, RTI Health Solutions, RTI International, RTP, NC, USA; Are We Getting The Most Out Of Economic Evaluation Databases? moderated by Michael Drummond PhD, Director, University of York, York, UK, with panelists Peter Neumann ScD, Associate Professor of Policy and Decision Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA, John Watkins MPH, RPh, Pharmacy Manager, Premera Blue Cross, Mountlake Terrace, WA, USA, and Adrian Towse MA, Director, Office of Health Economics, London, UK; and Outcomes Research (Economic, Clinical, Humanistic) Issues: Keeping A Promise: The NIH Roadmap Initiative On Patient-Reported Outcomes moderated by Nancy Santanello, MD, MS, Executive Director, Epidemiology Department, Merck Research Laboratories, Blue Bell, PA, USA, with panelists Bryce Reeve BS, MA, PhD, Psychometrician, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA, David Cella PhD, Professor and Director, Center on Outcomes Research and Education, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Evanston, IL, USA, and H. Guess, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

After a 30-minute break (sponsored by MAPI Values with cookies provided by AegisNet) and viewing of Exhibits and Contributed Poster Presentations, ISPOR Distinguished Service Awards were presented by Lieven Annemans PhD, MSc, Mman, ISPOR 2004-2005 President, Director, HEDM and Professor of Health Economics, University of Ghent, Meise, Belgium, after which Zeba Khan, PhD, RPh, Head of Health Economics & Pricing CVM BF, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Basel, Switzerland, presented the ISPOR Student Chapter Presidents Service Awards (see page 8 for all service awardees). C. Daniel Mullins, Chair ISPOR Awards Committee & Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, USA, moderated the ISPOR Scientific Awards Presentations. The 2005 ISPOR Research Excellence Awardees were then announced. John Brooks PhD, Chair, ISPOR Research Excellence Award in Methodology Task Force & Assistant Professor, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA, awarded the recipient of the 2005 ISPOR Research Excellence Award for Methodology Excellence to Joshua Salomon PhD, Assistant Professor of International Health, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, MA, USA. Joanna Siegel, ScD, Chair, ISPOR Research Excellence Award in Practical Application Task Force & Director, Research Initiative in Clinical Economics, Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, Rockville, MD, USA, awarded the recipient of the ISPOR Research Award for Practical Application Excellence to Sebastian Schneeweiss MD, ScD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Michael F. Drummond PhD, Chair, ISPOR Bernie J. O’Brien New Investigator Task Force & Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK presented the first-ever Bernie J. O’Brien New Investigator Award to Shelby D. Reed PhD, RPh, Assistant Research Professor of Medicine, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC, USA; and Bryan Luce PhD MBA, Chair, ISPOR Avedis Donabedian Lifetime Achievement Award in Outcomes Research & Chairman, Founder and Senior Research Leader of The MEDTAP(r) Institute at UBC and Senior Vice President for Science Policy, United BioSource Corporation (UBC), Bethesda, MD, USA, then announced the 2005 ISPOR Avedis Donabedian Lifetime Achievement Award in Outcomes Research to Kathleen N. Lohr PhD, MPhil, MA Distinguished Fellow, Scientific Advisory Council to the President, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. Peter Neumann ScD, Associate Professor of Policy and Decision Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA, then gave the Incoming Presidential Address.

ISPOR President Lieven Annemans PhD, MSc, Mman (l), ISPOR Past President James
Smeeding RPh, MBA, and ISPOR Past President Jon Clouse RPH, MS

Following Dr. Annemans’s address, the Second Plenary Session titled “Bringing Health Economic Modeling to the 21st Century,” was moderated by J. Jaime Caro MD, Scientific Director, Caro Research, Concord, MA, USA. Speakers were David Eddy PhD, MD, Senior Advisor, Kaiser Health Plan & Permanente Medical, Pasadena, CA, USA, and discussant A. Mark Fendrick, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine and Health Management & Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. The session addressed the level attained by modeling in health economics and presented a vision of what needs to be done to properly inform decisions.

J. Jaime Caro MS, Program Chair	Marilyn Dix Smith PhD, RPh, ISPOR Founding Executive Director	Daniel Kahneman PhD, First Pleanary Speaker

“I attended two outstanding plenary sessions,” said ISPOR Board member Jens Grueger PhD, from Novartis AG, Basel, Switzerland. “Both sessions provided a challenging view on the role of disease states. Both plenary sessions demonstrated how ISPOR is advancing beyond the application of traditional health economic methods, and advances into providing deep insights into disease and behaviour as a basis for improving policy relevant evidence for decision makers in health care.”

After the second Plenary Session, there was an additional viewing of the Second Poster Session and Exhibits and an ISPOR 10th Year Anniversary giveaway, followed by lunch. The meeting participants then attended the third and fourth Contributed Workshop Presentations in the 6 scientific tracks. At 4 PM, the ISPOR Forums were held. Forums included ISPOR Medical Device And Diagnostics Council Forum, which dealt with The Application Of Post-Market Registries And Other Evidence For Medical Devices, and was moderated by Stephen Hull, Vice-President, Global Stategy and Analysis Department, Advanced Medical Technology Association, Washington, DC, USA, with speakers Neal Muni MD, MSPH, Medical Officer, US Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD, USA, Steven E. Phurrough MD, MPA, Director, Coverage and Analysis Group, Office of Clinical Standard & Quality, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD, USA, and Clifford Goodman PhD, Vice President, The Lewin Group, Falls Church, VA, USA; the ISPOR Clinical Practice Special Interest Group Forum Applying Pharmacoeconomic Principles in Clinical Practice... Noble Enterprise or Pipe Dream? And the Value Proposition to Payers & Providers: Do Pharmacoeconomic Studies Meet the Needs of Decision Makers? with moderator Ramon Bautista MD, MBA, Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Florida HSC, Jacksonville, FL, USA, and speakers Sara Shull MBA, PharmD, Drug Policy and Economics Pharmacist Specialist, Nebraska Health System Name, Omaha, NE, USA, Alan Mutnick PharmD, Director/ Pharmacology, The JONES Group/JMI Laboratories, North Liberty, Iowa; Adjunct Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA, Peter K. Wong PhD, MBA, RPh Vice President, Clinical Effectiveness & PI, Good Samaritan Hospital, Dayton, OH, USA, and F. Randy Vogenberg RPh, PhD, Senior Vice President & National Practice Council Leader, Aon Consulting, Life Sciences Consulting Practice, Providence, RI, USA; and the ISPOR Retrospective Databases Special Interest Group Forum, which spoke on the matter of the ISPOR Digest of International Databases for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, with speakers Carl Asche, PhD, Co-Chair Classification of Databases Working Group & Associate Professor, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; Gordon Cummins MS, Co-Chair Classification of Databases Working Group & Vice President, Sales & Account Management, HealthCore, Inc.

The end of the second day of the 10th Annual Meeting ended with the, Exhibitor’s Wine & Cheese Reception (sponsored by Adelphi & Mapi Values) & viewing of the Contributed Poster Session II, including a complimentary champagne toast in honor of ISPOR’s 10th anniversary. The reception was followed by the ISPOR 10th Anniversary Party, held at the Sequoia Restaurant in downtown Washington, DC.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005
The last day of the meeting began with Contributed Poster Session III, consisting of the tracks of cardiovascular studies, cost studies, diabetes/obesity, and formulary management. After a short 15-minute break, Contributed Poster Session IV was held, consisting of the tracks of cardiovascular studies, cost studies, diabetes/obesity, and mental health.

At 10:30 AM, after a coffee break (sponsored by NDC Health), the ISPOR Contributed Presentation Awards were presented (see page 7 for winners).

The Third Plenary Session titled “Reflecting On The Past: Academic Exercise Or Real World Impact?” was moderated by Judith O’Brien RN, BSPA, Director of Cost Research, Caro Research, Concord, MA, USA. Speakers were Maurice McGregor MD, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Alistair McGuire PhD, Professor in Health Economics, London School of Economics, London, UK.

Third Plenary Session: Reflecting on the Past: Academic Exercise or Real World Impact?
J. Jaime Caro, MD (l), Alistair McGuire PhD, and Maurice McGregor MD

“The conference organizers are to be commended in providing three thoughtful and provocative plenary sessions -- which in my opinion is the proper role of a plenary session”, said George Torrance PhD, Vice- President, Innovus Research, Burlington, ON, Canada. “Kahneman, as usual, was very insightful in his description of the cognitive processes of health state preference formation and suggested that we need to pay more attention to the adaptation period during which patients adjust to their new circumstances. This adaptation period seems to be where the major disutility occurs. Eddy challenged our common reliance on Markov models and their variants, and suggested we move to continuous models with differential equations of the type he and his colleagues are using very successfully. McGregor reminded us that many decision makers are sceptical about the validity of QALYs and prefer to use their own judgement in weighting pros and cons. McGuire answered this criticism by suggesting that QALYs were useful but the results should not be taken unthinkingly; rather social preferences should be used in addition to QALYs to correct important distortions. Good food for thought in all three sessions.”

We look forward to seeing you and continuing the ISPOR 10th Anniversary celebrations at the ISPOR 8th Annual European Congress, in Florence, Italy, 6-8, November 2005!

  Issues Index | 2005 Issues Index