Guidelines for Economic Analysis of Pharmaceutical Products

Abstract

Summary

In Canada, provincial formulary review committees consider the effectiveness, safety, and cost of products when they derive advice for each Minister of Health. This article offers a draft set of guidelines for pharmaceutical manufacturers making submissions which include economic information, moving beyond a simple presentation of the unit price of the pharmaceutical product (e.g. price per day or course of therapy) and comparison to similar prices for alternative products.

A full economic analysis compares all relevant costs and clinical outcomes of the new product with alterna te therapeutic strategies for treating patients with a particular condition. The perspective of the decision maker must be clearly identified. The quality of the evidence supporting estimates of the variables incorporated in the analysis should be evaluated. Sensitivity analyses are used to assess the robustness of the qualitative conclusions.

Reviewers will examine the answers to a set of 19 questions. Manufacturers can use these questions as a worksheet for preparation of an economic analysis to be incorporated in a submission.

This article is a merger of 2 sets of economic luidelines produced by the author as a tonsultant to the Ontario lovemment and the inter-provincial workins group. It in no way renects the official polity of either the lovernments of Ontario or Canada. These guidelines are intended to be a starting point for further refinement. and discussion with health economists in industry and academia. Considerable flexibility will be used in reviewing documentation supporting economic analysis. Those preparing submissions should be encouraged to experiment with various approaches as part of the general developmcnt of this field and to engage provincial review committees in ongoing discussions.