With the 1st Congress of ISPOR Rome for Future (GIRF) Group, the ISPOR Rome Chapter brought together all young ISPOR chapter members under the age of 35, applying as a multidisciplinary network for new professionals in Health Economics & Outcome Research. The GIRF was successfully launched in Naples, Italy on May 19-20, 2022, with the active participation of more than 80 young members from national and regional authorities, health care organizations, academic institutions, consulting societies, universities, and pharmaceutical companies.
The Congress was held as a plenary meeting, with an opening by Lectio Magistralis followed by 3 sessions, each structured on papers, discussions and podium presentations resulting from the selection of the most interesting and relevant abstracts submitted by the young members of GIRF.
During the opening ceremony, Prof. Pier Luigi Canonico, President of the ISPOR Italy Rome Chapter, and Dr. Andrea Marcellusi, Chapter President-elect, welcomed the participants and introduced Dr. Sara Mucherino, President of the 1st GIRF Congress, who outlined the group's mission and objectives.
- Lectio Magistralis from Dyfrig Hughes (Professor of Pharmacoeconomics and Director of Research at the School of Medical and Health Sciences at Bangor University, North Wales, UK), who illustrated future perspectives of Health Economics & Outcomes Research, was moderated by Prof. Enrica Menditto (Director CIRFF; Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II).
- Session I, moderated by Dr. Andrea Marcellusi and Dr. Sara Mucherino, gave an overview of the main difficulties and common points encountered in Italy by young researchers and business leads in the application of the main economic evaluation and outcome research methodologies. The session began with a keynote speech by Prof. Pierluigi Russo, (Director of the Office of Economic Evaluations, Italian Medicines Agency), followed by the lectures of the GIRF members (Chiara Bini, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Salvatore Pirri, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa, Matteo Zanuzzi, Italian Medicines Agency). Finally, four oral presentations were moderated by Dr. Carolina Moreno (Regulatory Pharma Net) and Dr. Sara Mucherino.
- Session II was moderated by Prof. Valentina Orlando, (Researcher from CIRFF; Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II) and Dr. Valeria Viola (funder of Pharma Value) and focused on the types of data and evidence available from Real World Evidence, as a tool for monitoring prescriptive appropriateness supporting healthcare system governance. After the framing of the problem generated by the gap between the therapeutic need and real world evidence, addressed by Prof. Armando Genazzani (Member CHMP EMA and Director of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale), the young GIRF members (Alessio Colaizzi, Incyte, Aurora Di Filippo, AIFA, Rossana Roncato, CRO Aviano, Ilaria Guarino, ASL NA2 Nord) took the floor. Dr. Claudia D'Avella (Sanofi) and Prof. Armando Genazzani moderated the four oral presentations on Session II.
- Session III was moderated by Dr. Maria Vittoria Azzi (Sanofi) and Dr. Dario Lidonnici (MA Provider, and focused on the main pricing strategies in the national setting by analyzing their evolution over time as well as the main challenge, i.e. attributing the right value to drugs guaranteeing access to the market in a short time and economic sustainability of healthcare governance. The overview of the current scenario was provided by Prof. Claudio Jommi (SDA Bocconi School of Management) who then gave the floor to the GIRF members (Michele Basile and Filippo Rumi, ALTEMS, Letizia Rossi, Intexo, Marco Belfiore, Roche). At the end of the session, Dr. Danilo Di Laura (MSD) and Dr. Dario Lidonnici (MA Provider) introduced and moderated three oral presentations.
During the closing ceremony of the Congress, two awards were announced: Dr. Elena Peruzzi for Best Poster Presentation with the study "Implementation of Pharmacogenetics, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and the Study of Drug-Drug Interactions in an Active Pharmacovigilance Approach as a Tool for Optimizing mm Prescribing and Minimizing the Risks of ADRs in Drug Therapy with Oral Oncological Drugs" and Dr. Ginevra Mastroianni for best Podium Presentation with the study "Analysis of Drug Applications for the 648/96 List: Focus on CTS Evaluations".
At the end of the Congress, the first General Assembly of the GIRF was held, where an overview of the launch of the GIRF was given, the next steps were proposed, and the results of the vote of the GIRF Group Steering Committee were communicated with the election of five members: Dr. Danilo di Laura, Dr. Carolina Moreno, Dr. Sara Mucherino, Dr. Raffaella Viti, Dr. Matteo Zanuzzi.