Both Societies Jointly Affirm that Transparency Is Fundamental to the Reproducibility, Credibility, and Usefulness of RWE
Lawrenceville, NJ, USA—September 29, 2026—ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research and the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) announced today that their societies have published a joint position statement on real-world evidence (RWE) transparency.
RWE is the clinical evidence obtained from analyzing real-world data regarding the use, potential benefits, and potential risks associated with a medical treatment, diagnostic, or program. It offers many benefits that are particularly useful for research that can be applied to healthcare decision making. Advantages include the availability of timely data at reasonable cost, large sample sizes that enable analysis of subpopulations and less common effects, and the representativeness of real-world practice and behaviors. While RWE offers tremendous potential, it also presents very real concerns that continue to cast shadows on its credibility.
Transparency in research enables the public and decision makers to trust the science that underpins RWE. Toward this goal, the societies have now released a joint RWE Transparency Position Statement affirming that transparency is fundamental to the reproducibility, credibility, and usefulness of RWE, and the criticality of intentional documentation throughout the study lifecycle.
ISPOR and ISPE have long collaborated together on initiatives related to RWE transparency. A notable collaboration is the RWE Registry that was launched in 2021as a simplified registration site especially for RWE and hypothesis evaluation of treatment effects including safety studies using secondary data. The RWE Registry is designed to promote a culture of transparent reporting for real-world evidence studies on treatment effects.
Researchers and other stakeholders who would like to endorse this statement can do so on the RWE Transparency Position Statement LinkedIn page.
Additional information can be found here:
RWE Transparency Initiative | RWE Transparency Position Statement | RWE Registry | About RWE
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ABOUT ISPOR
ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR), is an international, multistakeholder, nonprofit dedicated to advancing HEOR excellence to improve decision making for health globally. The Society is the leading source for scientific conferences, peer-reviewed and MEDLINE®-indexed publications, good practices guidance, education, collaboration, and tools/resources in the field.
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ABOUT ISPE
The International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) is an international organization dedicated to advancing the health of the public by providing a global forum for the open exchange of scientific information and for the development of policy, education, and advocacy for the field of pharmacoepidemiology, including such areas as pharmacovigilance, drug utilization research, comparative effectiveness research, and therapeutic risk management.