Preparing for the EU Regulation on HTA and Joint Clinical Assessments of Vaccines

Poster presentation at ISPOR Congress, 14 November 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark

Objectives

Clinical assessment of vaccines in the European Union (EU) significantly variates compared to other medicines, involving many different bodies and processes – most notably the National Immunization Advisory Technical Groups (NITAGs). To help inform the development of standardized and vaccine-specific evaluation for use in the EU Regulation on Health Technology Assessment (HTA), literature reviews and expert consultation were conducted to identify current practices and gaps related to vaccine

Methods

Three complementary literature reviews were conducted to capture the current guidelines and recommendations for vaccine appraisals, identify methods used to assess evidence and outline the differences in recommendations for four selected vaccines. An expert consultation meeting was held to discuss the literature review findings, reflect on vaccine-specific considerations in the assessment of clinical domains of HTA and obtain insights into the EU’s future joint clinical assessments (JCAs) of

Results

Significant variation exists across the EU in the decision-making processes and criteria for vaccines clinical evaluation with vaccine specificities being rarely considered by HTA bodies across EU member states. Based on literature review findings and expert recommendations, three guiding principles (use of appropriate terminology and measurements for vaccines, vaccine-specific assessment process, data collection and evidence generation) and thirteen recommendations were proposed to foster

Conclusions

The review of the literature and discussion with experts raised concerns that JCAs for vaccines may not be able to appropriately capture the full value of vaccination, with the risk of delaying or limiting population access to vaccines. Guiding principles were proposed to help addressing vaccines-specificities under the EU Regulation on HTA – before it becomes effective in 2025.