Co-organized by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) China Northwest Chapter, the Shaanxi Provincial Center for Health Reform and Development, and the Shaanxi Provincial Pharmaceutical Association, hosted by the School of Pharmacy at Xi'an Jiaotong University, the 5th Conference of ISPOR Northwest China Chapter was successfully held September 22nd to 24th, 2023 in Xi'an, China. With the theme of "Pharmacoeconomics and Policy: Innovative Development and Collaborative Governance", the conference placed a significant emphasis on global innovations in drug development and pharmaceutical policy. It brought together experts to engage in-depth discussions about major issues facing healthcare and trend analysis and interpretations on various topics including new methods in pharmacoeconomics, drug reimbursement and market access, essential drug list adjustment, health technology assessments, comprehensive drug clinical evaluations, drug policy, and drug supply assurance.
The conference received strong support from many leaders and colleagues. More than 300 experts, scholars, and colleagues from government institutions and universities such as the National Health Commission, Peking University, Fudan University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Tianjin University, Sichuan University, Wuhan University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and China Pharmaceutical University have participated in this event. About 50 experts and scholars have been invited to give keynote speeches.
Professor Yu Fang, Vice Dean of the School of Pharmacy at Xi'an Jiaotong University and President of ISPOR Northwest Chapter, chaired the conference opening ceremony.
The conference was comprised of 2 main forums and 9 sub-forums. The pharmaceutical policy forum featured keynote speeches by Professor Dennis Ross-Degnan of Harvard Medical School, Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar of the University of Huddersfield, Professor Shanlian Hu of Fudan University, and Professor Lizheng Shi of Tulane University, who gave presentations on "Present and Future Pharmaceutical Policy Issues in China and Globally: A Selective Overview", "Pharmaceutical Policy and Access to New Medicines", "Advances in International Pharmacoeconomic Research", "Health Technology Assessment and Value-Based Pricing for Gene Therapies in the United States", respectively.
The pharmacoeconomics forum included keynote speeches by Professor Gordon Liu from Peking University, Professor Luwen Shi from Peking University, Director Jie Zheng from the Beijing Medical Insurance Affairs Management Center, Professor Jing Wu from Tianjin University, Professor Yu Fang from Xi'an Jiaotong University, and Professor Jinxi Ding from China Pharmaceutical University. They presented the following topics 1) Reflections on the Biomedical and Social Medical Model, 2) The Value System of Pharmaceutical Services, 3) Reconstructing a Scientific and Rational Drug Value System, 4) How Big is the Price Gap between First-in-Class and Advance-in-Class Drugs?, 5) Medical Insurance Strategic Purchasing and Drug Innovation Incentives, and 6) Real-World Data Research and Drug Medical Insurance Access Research, respectively. Experts had in-depth discussions about the trends and frontiers of research on pharmacoeconomics and related policy practices in China.
The sub-forums covered 9 topics: 1) Multilevel Medical Security, 2) National Dialogue and the Implementation of Medical Insurance Policies, 3) Reform of Medical Insurance Payment Methods, 4) Decision-making for Access of Innovative Drugs and Evidence-based Evaluation, 5) HTA and Pharmacoeconomic Evaluation, 6) Comprehensive Drug Clinical Evaluation and Access to Essential Drugs, 7) Frontier Methods and Technologies in Pharmacoeconomics, 8) Accessibility of Orphan Drugs and Oncology Drugs, and 9) Young Scholars Forum.
The Conference has effectively promoted academic exchanges and cooperation in the field of pharmacoeconomics and pharmaceutical policy in China and overseas. It has propelled the continued development of value-based medicine, rational drug use, and pharmaceutical policy, and also made a positive contribution to promoting innovation and development in medicine and pharmacy in China.
During the conference, the new Journal "Pharmacoeconomics and Policy" (P&P, English), sponsored by Xi'an Jiaotong University, was officially launched. Prof. Wenhua Shan delivered the inaugural speech, and he stated that the launch of P&P is timely, which will provide a new and broader platform for academic exchange and cooperation in the fields of pharmacoeconomics and pharmaceutical policy worldwide. Prof. Yu Fang, Editor-in-Chief, has introduced the Journal’s background, vision and mission, characteristics, and future plans. Lei Jiang stated that as the publisher of P&P, KeAi will be committed to providing a good international publishing service for the Journal and to creating an innovative platform for scholars and healthcare professionals worldwide to share and exchange research results in pharmacoeconomics and pharmaceutical policy. The special guests including Gordon Liu, Shanlian Hu, Lizheng Shi, Zhongliang Zhou, and Lei Feng congratulated on the inaugural issue of P&P. Yanmin Zhang, Dean of the School of Pharmacy, offered practical ideas on how to make a good journal by sharing his experience from founding "Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis (English)" to making it as one of China's most influential international academic journals. Cong Zhang, Director of the Journal Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University emphasized that the Journal Center will provide strong support for P&P and work closely with the editorial board for promoting rapid development of the Journal.
