The Emergence of ICER in American Pharma

Joe Biden recently suggested that Medicare drug-price negotiations should follow the German model where negotiations between government and drugmakers are informed by a third-party independent analysis. This prompted several media outlets such as Endpoints News, Pink Sheet, and FiercePharma to mention ICER’s potential role in providing the same impartial analysis for US drugmakers. Here are a few excerpts from an interview conduction by BioCentury on how ICER could grow its influence in this domain:

• Dan Mendelson, Founder of Avalere Health: “ICER has developed and emerged as one of the only credible voices on comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and the value of medicines… I think there are benefits having outside voices to opine on things politically contentious.”
• Edmund Pezalla, CEO of Enlightenment BioConsult and former VP for Pharmaceutical Policy at Aetna: “We’re seeing a trend of payers paying a lot more attention to ICER…No one has put ICER forward for a government function, but they’re certainly set up to do that. They have the expertise, the track record, and the kinds of people needed, and they could probably scale up.”
• Roger Longman, CEO of Real Endpoints: “It would not be unprecedented for the government to think about using a similar concept with cost-effectiveness that it does to make Medicare coverage decisions in oncology and other categories… I think ICER will be one of perhaps several cost-effectiveness organizations.”
• Jane Barlow, EVP and COO of Real Endpoints: “There’s often a lack of credibility relative to ICER’s assessments, and those others are not really meant for use broadly in the ecosystem.”
• Michael Sherman, Chief Medical Officer of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care: “In many conversations with pharmas, we’re hearing that they’re seeing it as a strategic advantage to align with ICER.’”