Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To analyse trends in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) timelines conducted by Ireland's National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) between 2023 and 2025, including time from company submission to completion of a full initial assessment and to final recommendation, stratified by therapeutic area.
METHODS: Eligible submissions for this analysis were limited to indications with full HTA submissions to the NCPE between 2023 and 2025. Publicly available data from the NCPE website were used. Extracted datapoints included the following dates; company submission, issuance of preliminary review questions, and publication of final recommendations. Submissions were categorised by quarter, and timelines were analysed by therapeutic area (oncology, non-oncology, and rare diseases).
RESULTS: A total of 80 HTAs were submitted between 2023-2025: 48 oncology (60%), 21 non-oncology (26%), and 11 rare disease (14%). Median time from HTA submission to preliminary review questions increased from 156 days for Q1 2023 submissions to a peak of 313 days in Q4 2023, followed by a decline to 119.5 days by Q4 2025. Total HTA review duration from company submission showed a similar pattern, rising from 289 days in Q1 2023 to 442 days in Q4 2023, before trending downwards, decreasing to 229 days for Q3 2025 submissions. Trends were consistent across therapeutic areas, although timelines were longest in oncology (median 200.5 days to preliminary review questions; 363 days to final recommendation), shorter in non-oncology (187 days; 305 days), and shortest in rare diseases 120 days; 189.5 days).
CONCLUSIONS: Within the analysed timeframe, NCPE HTA timelines peaked for submissions in Q4 2023 and have since improved substantially, with marked reductions observed throughout 2024-2025. While this trend was consistent across therapeutic areas, oncology submissions consistently exhibited the longest timelines, whereas rare disease HTAs were completed more rapidly.