Manufacturers Becoming More Proactive to ICER Assessments

Manufacturers believe payers will begin to use the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) assessments more frequently and that payers are also becoming more proactive by integrating ICER requirements into their evidence generation and market strategies, according to new research. 

ICER is best known for more than 20 published reports covering a range of disease areas from class assessment to individual assessment of high-cost drugs. To better understand manufacturer perceptions of current and future potential impacts of ICER assessment on payer decisions, a research team led by Nathanael White, ICON Plc, and colleagues, invited 2034 manufacturer employees to participate in a 28-question web-based survey. For inclusion in the survey, respondents had to be employed by a pharmaceutical manufacturer. 

The researchers identified 42 respondents who met the inclusion criteria for the survey. According to the findings, 74% were moderately or extremely familiar with ICER reports, organizational structure, processes, and personnel. The researchers also found that 60% believed ICER is only somewhat or slightly influential on payers, and 73% said their organization has actively prepared a response to a draft ICER report in the last year. 

Roughly 55% of the responding manufacturers said they are mostly or completely proactive in response to ICER. Further, 40% said it is extremely unlikely or unlikely that they would match a recommended list price to an ICER valuation, and 30% believe it is likely or extremely likely that that would match their list price. Finally, around 30% or respondents said they believe payers find value-based benchmark prices to be the most valuable part of an ICER report, and 50% said payers had directly referenced an ICER assessment during negotiations. 

“Manufacturers believe that payers will more frequently make use of ICER assessments and they are becoming more proactive by integrating ICER requirements into their evidence generation and market access strategies,” study authors concluded. “Manufacturers are reluctant to adjust pricing and rebates to match ICER assessments.” 

This research was presented at AMCP Nexus 2018.

—Julie Gould