This session will introduce ISPOR attendees to the Access Forum, a new professional society that aspires to be the global voice and Center of Excellence for promoting market and patient access to innovative healthcare products, technologies, and services. The panel will explore the evolving intersection of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) with market access (MA), and some initial directions for the emerging collaboration between the AF and ISPOR. Panelists will reflect on an emerging vision for market access that involves cross-functional collaboration across multiple teams and departments. Presenters are drawn from experienced leaders from the HTA, HEOR, market access and life sciences community.

Sean Tunis will open the session with an introduction to the Access Forum and the panelists, and a review of the panel objectives and agenda. Joe Boswell will discuss the reasons for establishing the Access Forum, progress to date, and the rationale for collaboration with ISPOR. Omar Dabbous will present the strategic framework that is guiding the activities of the Access Forum, and key elements of the Access Vision 2030 that is being developed by a group of experienced, recognized market access professionals. Ravinder Dhawan and Erin Mistry will offer their perspectives on the current and emerging challenges for the market access function as it evolves from its positioning as a group of ‘technical experts in a support function’ to ‘strategic partners for the business’. Carole Longson will serve as a reactor to the initial comments drawing on her long tenure at the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and more recent consulting experiences. Following brief initial comments from each panelist, the remainder of the session will be interactive Q&A with the panelists and the audience. The discussion will aim to generate ideas on how ISPOR and Access Forum could work together to advance shared goals in market access.