NEWS FROM THE NETWORK: ISSUE 2 (2016)

Established and funded by Genome Canada, the Precision Medicine Policy Network brings together researchers and interested stakeholders to focus on developing knowledge and consensus best practice guides in four high priority theme areas:
(1) Research Ethics
(2) Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
(3) KT and Implementation
(4) Intellectual Property and Commercialization

Newsletter Feature
THEME 2: HEALTH ECONOMICS AND HTA (HE/HTA)
Theme lead: Michael Wolfson

Inaugural workshop of the Network's HE/HTA Theme 
- October 22nd at the BC Cancer Research Centre in Vancouver, Canada.
- Participants: included health economists from the Genomics and Personalized Health Projects and invited stakeholders.

Workshop speakers: Drs Michael Wolfson, Christopher McCabe, Francois Rousseau and Dean Regier 

Discussion focused on:
1. New ways of measuring and valuing that aim to bring societal and patient perspectives to the analysis of PM technologies;
2. Data access challenges, including access to timely health administrative data to support quality improvement initiatives and PM technology evaluation;
3. Evaluating ‘stochastic’ technologies, including best practices for representing decision uncertainty in cost effectiveness models.

High priority challenges identified:
1. Developing a framework and recommended methods for capturing the value of PM technologies from health system and individual patient perspectives;
2. Appropriately characterizing 'uncertainty' in PM algorithmic predictions and incorporating potential solutions into economic evaluation;
3. Development of a coherent study design framework for test technologies, from initial clinical validation to health system evaluation. 

Outcomes:
Investigative teams are being identified.
Follow-up activities, including: development of white papers in each priority challenge area, and presentation at the 2017 CADTH Symposium.

NETWORK ACTIVITIES

The Precision Medicine Policy Network PIs and Theme Leads were active at the American Society of Human Genetics Annual Conference (Oct 18-22, Vancouver, BC). See Network poster.

Theme 1 (Research Ethics) lead, Bartha Knoppers and team member, Vaso Rahimzadeh, contributed as part of the Ethics Review Equivalency Task Team at the 4th Plenary of the Global Alliance of Genomics and Health (Oct 16-18, Vancouver, BC). Stay tuned for policy outcomes.

Network PIs and Theme Leads participated in Genome Canada's Genomics and Precision Health Forum (Oct 4-5, Toronto, ON)

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

Spring 2017, Expert consensus workshops:
Theme 3, KT and Implementation
     Theme 4, IP and Commercialization 

THANK-YOU TO OUR CO-FUNDERS

Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta
CADTH
School of Epidemiology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ottawa
Centre of Genomics and Policy (CGP), McGill University
ALMDx, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, University of Alberta
BC Cancer Agency
Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control

More to follow...

The Precision Medicine Policy Network is supported and funded by
Genome Canada, Genome Alberta, and Genome Quebec.