OBJECTIVES: Health Technology Assessment (HTA) bodies evaluate the clinical and economic impact of new healthcare interventions to inform decisions on their pricing and reimbursement. The 2020 global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has produced unprecedented challenges to the normal pricing and reimbursement activities of HTA bodies. This research evaluates the impact of COVID-19 across several major HTA bodies.

METHODS: Publicly-available HTA reports were identified for the HTA bodies in England (NICE), Scotland (SMC), Germany (IQWiG), and Canada (CADTH) and key information extracted (01/01/2000-29/12/2020).

RESULTS: NICE have issued 506 recommendations from Single Technology Appraisals (STAs), with the first coming in 2006. This is an average of 33.8 per year, with a mean of 42.5 and 58.6 since 2010 and 2015, respectively. In 2020, NICE issued 35 STA recommendations. The SMC have made 1604 recommendations with the first in 2002. This is an average of 84.4/year and a mean of 90.7 and 99.0 since 2010 and 2015, respectively. In 2020, the SMC made 65 recommendations. IQWiG have delivered 424 dossier assessments, with the first in 2011, an average of 42.4/year with 52/year since 2015. In 2020, IQWiG delivered 76 dossier evaluations (77 in 2019). CADTH have completed 528 reimbursement review reports, with the first in 2004. This is an average of 31.1/year with a mean of 35.3 and 41.0 since 2010 and 2015, respectively. In 2020, CADTH completed 26 reimbursement review reports.

CONCLUSIONS: Unsurprisingly, many HTA bodies have reduced the number of drug recommendations in 2020 compared to recent years, as they have had to reprioritize resource and deal with other COVID-related challenges. How they respond to deal with the inevitable backlog will prove interesting. COVID-19 will also have impacted many clinical trials and delayed their completion thus extending timelines to launch, which may alleviate some of this pressure.