HEOR News

EU to Pledge €700 Million to Global Fund, Less Than Previous Years (Health Policy Watch)

The European Commission intends to significantly cut its contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, ending a decades-long trend of increasing contributions to the multilateral health organization. According to Health Policy Watch, the Commission plans to pledge €700 million over a 4-year span from 2026 to 2029—about €60 million less per year than its previous pledge. Read more

LP-1 Cost-Effectiveness for Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (JAMA Cardiology)

An economic modeling study of patients with overweight or obesity and cardiovascular disease found that lifetime treatment with semaglutide at 2023 prices had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $148,100 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. An 18% price reduction would drop that number to $120,000 per QALY gained.
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Cholera Vaccination Resumes After 3 Years (WHO)

Global cholera vaccine supply has now increased to a level sufficient for life-saving preventive campaigns to resume after a 3-year gap, according to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization. Vaccination was halted in 2022 when a global surge in cholera cases led to supply shortages. 
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Peer Population Comparisons Can Improve Early Detection of Kidney Disease  (Karolinska Institutet)

Early detection of chronic kidney disease can be improved by comparing a patient’s estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to age- and sex-based population norms, rather than the conventional approach of using a single eGFR threshold level to define normal kidney function in all adults, according to Swedish researchers.
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Analysis Finds Regulatory Submission Delays Determine New Drug Access (Health Affairs)

Americans’ advantage in access to new drugs is less driven by efficient regulatory review and more a matter of when companies apply for review and the type of drugs submitted, according to an analysis of submission delays and review times for regulatory bodies in the United States, the European Union, Canada, Japan, and Australia.
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Benchmarking the UK’s Cost-Effectiveness Threshold: International Comparisons (ABPI)

When the cost-effectiveness threshold used by the United Kingdom to guide health technology funding decisions increases to £25,000-£35,000 in April 2026, it will still fall below the average of the 8 countries that have such a threshold, according to an analysis commissioned by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations.
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Chemotherapy Before Surgery Can Improve Survival in Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer (Mayo Clinic)

Many patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer may benefit from receiving chemotherapy before surgery, according to research from the Mayo Clinic. When tumors were in contact with the superior mesenteric vein, having surgery first was associated with decreased survival.
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Global Humanitarian Aid Cuts Could Lead to 23 Million Deaths by 2030, Study Estimates (CIDRAP)

Two decades of humanitarian and development assistance have greatly reduced preventable deaths worldwide, but cuts to global aid funding could reverse that progress and result in millions of additional deaths by the end of the decade, according to an analysis of data from 93 low- and middle-income countries.
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States Join World Health Organization Network After US Withdrawal (Health Policy Watch)

New York, California, and Illinois joined the World Health Organization’s pandemic response network after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the organization. They are now part of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, a global partnership for rapidly identifying and responding to public health emergencies.
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Utilization and Effectiveness of Tuberculosis Digital Adherence Technology (Frontiers in Public Health)

Real-world acceptance of digital adherence technology for improving tuberculosis treatment rates in China is significantly lower than in randomized trials or national programs promoting the technology. Researchers believe the low utilization rates may be related to hesitancy on the part of both patients and clinicians.
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Claims Analysis Finds Early Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis Reduces Costs of Care (JHEOR)

Initiating atypical antipsychotic treatment within 6 months of Parkinson’s disease psychosis was associated with significant reductions in all-cause and psychiatric-related healthcare resource utilization, according to a retrospective analysis of Medicare claims.
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Cardiovascular Disease Detection With AI-Enabled Stethoscope in the United Kingdom (The Lancet)

Despite technical success in detecting early cardiac disease, an AI-enabled stethoscope did not improve population-level detection in a real-world, primary care setting due to poor clinician acceptance, with 40% of practices discontinuing use of the technology by 12 months.
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