Australia Identifies HTA Challenges Posed By Emerging Technologies

Pharmaceutical industry stakeholders have expressed concern over the lack of clarity about the available pathways for assessing emerging health technologies such as gene and gene modified cell therapies, as well as problems with funding arrangements.

Funding — Cost will be a key factor in assessing whether new technologies should be subsidized • Source: Shutterstock

Emerging technologies such as advanced therapies, tumor-agnostic therapies, antibody-drug conjugates and microbiome-based therapies are likely to pose a challenge for existing health technology assessment (HTA), funding and subsidy pathways, according to a draft paper published by the Australian government.

“The challenges to HTA vary depending on the technology,” the paper says, noting that therapies that target specific gene variants...