New ICER Program Analyzes Budget Impact of New Drugs

A new program from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) will produce public reports on new drugs that have the potential to significantly change patient care and health system budgets. The program will be funded by a $5.2 million grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and the reports will be produced near the time of FDA approval and will include a full analysis of a drug’s comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and potential budget impact.

In addition, since rising drug prices have raised questions about their value to patients, ICER will calculate a value-based price benchmark anchored to the real benefits each new drug brings to patients.

“We need prices that make sense,” ICER President Steven Pearson, MD, said in a statement. “Right now, it’s often a black box: we don’t know if we are getting good value with new drugs at these higher prices."

The first report under the new program will be issued in September 2015 and will evaluate the PCSK9 inhibitors for cholesterol. The second report, expected the same month, will asses Entresto, Novartis AG's new drug to treat heart failure.

“ICER’s new program will make a huge difference by providing what is sorely needed: an independent, trusted source of information about new drugs,” Steve Miller, MD, chief medical officer of Express Scripts. “I believe many payers and policy makers will find this information of critical importance as they evaluate the new drugs, and we look forward to using it to help us improve the ability of patients to get access to new, innovative drugs at a price the system can afford.”