Rising to the challenge of producing evidence on rare disease therapies

In a new blog post, YHEC Director of Pharmaceutical Consulting, Stuart Mealing, discusses the unique challenges of demonstrating value for rare disease therapies.

Due to small patient populations and the high cost of development, traditional evidence generation methods often fall short. Stuart highlights the importance of proactive planning, early engagement with reimbursement agencies and robust evidence validation.

Read more in our blog.

YHEC has extensive experience supporting rare disease projects from early-stage advice to HTA submissions.

Contact us to find out how we can help with your project.

YHEC report highlights the potential for NHS savings

YHEC has partnered with the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) on a new report with important findings for the NHS and patients across the UK.

The report highlights how commissioning pharmacies to help people to use their medicines more effectively, including stopping redundant ones, could be money-saving for the NHS. A further potential benefit identified by the report is value for patient health, helping people to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.

This research shows how a wider investment in pharmaceutical care could benefit both patients and the NHS.

Read the full report on the NPA website.

Capturing the patient perspective: adding value in the rare diseases space

YHEC Project Director Andria Joseph's latest blog post delves into the complexities of collecting patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in rare diseases. She identifies key challenges and presents potential solutions, emphasising the critical need for early, continuous patient engagement and close collaboration among all stakeholders.

She also unpacks how technology can be a double-edged sword in this process, both helping to streamline data collection and, in some cases, creating new hurdles.

Read the full post.

Are you going to ISOQOL 2025? Catch Andria's workshop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and contact us if you'd like to meet her there.

Sharing expertise on real-world data

YHEC Project Director, Robert Malcolm, offered insights on using real-world data as part of an expert panel at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna.

Robert discussed the key issues in the context of diabetes technology and examined the challenges, including missing data and controlling for bias. He said: "I'm eager to see how new research translates into real-world changes to services and care delivery, and how new economic cases are put forward for these changes. Equally, I hope attendees took something away when considering the evaluation of continuous glucose monitors, as well as interventions in diabetes as a whole"

If you're interested in leveraging real-world data for your next project, get in touch with YHEC.

YHEC's CEO offers insights on health economics and the NHS

YHEC was proud to sponsor The Yorkshire Post Health and Life Sciences Business Breakfast.

YHEC CEO, Professor Matthew Taylor, was a keynote speaker at the event, which highlighted the Yorkshire region's role in shaping the future of health and life sciences. 

Professor Taylor said: "It was wonderful to get together with entrepreneurs, start-ups, and decision makers at the Yorkshire Post Business Breakfast at Headingley Stadium. I discussed the evidence required to be able to demonstrate cost effectiveness, reduced health inequalities, reduced environmental harm and - importantly - reduced uncertainty. Thanks to everyone who attended. It was fantastic to hear your ideas and plans."

The YHEC team has a proven track record in delivering impactful projects for the NHS and public sector.

Get in touch to find out more about our services.

New website for YHEC

We are excited to announce the launch of our new website! It's now easier than ever to find out how we support evidence-based decisions in health economics and market access.

Alongside a fresh, modern design, the site includes more information about our work, clients and services.

The Our Team section highlights the background and knowledge of YHEC's experts, with biographies and key papers.

Don't miss our new Resources & Events section, where you can find YHEC's latest publications, the YHEC blog and upcoming opportunities to meet our team at conferences and other events.

Discover more at: https://www.yhec.co.uk/.

Meet the team: Debs Watkins

Debs is a Research Consultant at YHEC with expertise in reviews and evidence synthesis. She has a background in paediatric nursing and a Master’s in Global Health and Development.

Debs works on systematic reviews, scoping reviews and rapid reviews, often collaborating with colleagues in health economics, statistics and medical communications. Her projects support decision-making for a wide range of clients, from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to the NHS, charities and international organisations.

She is particularly passionate about rigorous methodology and enjoys the challenge of tailoring reviews to meet client needs. Debs also has research interests in the role of AI in evidence reviews, having co-authored work on machine learning tools for screening.

Read more about Debs and her work. 

YHEC team collaborate on strategy and future directions

Staff came together in York for YHEC's strategy day, a chance for the whole team to meet and share ideas.

Professor Matthew Taylor, said: “Our annual strategy day is one of the most important events in our calendar. It’s an opportunity for every member of our team to help shape the future of YHEC, ensuring that its growth, research, and impact are guided by the people who know the company best. This collaborative approach not only drives innovation but also strengthens the shared ethos that underpins all of our work.”

Welcome to Mary, Amy and Katie

We're delighted to welcome Mary Jordan, Amy Barton and Katie Murray to the YHEC team!

Mary is joining YHEC as Project Director. Amy and Katie are Research Assistants.

Nurturing the next generation of health economists

YHEC is proud to support new talent and contribute to the future of health economics. This year, we mentored several MSc students through their research projects. 

Professor Matthew Taylor commented:

"We’re delighted to have hosted a fantastic group of summer placement students over the past few months. As always, they’ve brought ideas, energy, and enthusiasm, and have put their work to addressing various issues ranging from environmental assessment in health to assessing the burden experienced by carers."
 
We're excited to see what these bright minds achieve next!

By royal appointment...

YHEC Director of Digital Health Technologies Consulting, Hayden Holmes, was pleased to meet Her Royal Highness, Queen Camilla, at York's Ebor Festival. Hayden was representing Move the Masses, a charity which aims to create healthy communities by enabling people to improve their wellbeing through exercise. 

YHEC is proud to support volunteering and charity work, and all staff are offered the opportunity to take volunteering days.

Find out more about working at YHEC.

Congratulations to Monica Garrett

YHEC would like to congratulate Monica Garrett on being promoted to Research Consultant.

Well done Monica!

PharmacoEconomics

YHEC's Sam Harper, Daniela Afonso, Karina Watts and Professor Matthew Taylor have published a new paper in the PharmacoEconomics journal.

The study, "Evaluating the Role and Policy Implications of Using External Evidence in Survival Extrapolations: A Case Study of Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Therapy for Second-Line DLBCL",  qualitatively and quantitatively assesses how different Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies consider maturing data and external evidence when evaluating new haemato-oncology therapies.

Read the full paper.

Parkinson's Disease

YHEC Project Director, William Green, is co-author of a publication in the Parkinson's Disease journal.

Developing a cost-effectiveness model from the perspective of the NHS and personal social services, the research evaluates the cost-effectiveness of opicapone versus entacapone as adjuvant therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease experiencing end-of-dose motor fluctuations.

Read more.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice

Mary Edwards, Emma Carr and Mick Arber have co-authored an article in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. They explore how demographic data are reported in U.S.-based studies of primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDDs).

The scoping review found that fewer than half of observational studies reported race or ethnicity, and only a small proportion met current FDA-recommended reporting guidelines. Importantly, study populations were not statistically representative of the wider U.S. population, with non-Hispanic White patients overrepresented.

Read more.

Join our team

YHEC is a dynamic research consultancy, with a large multidisciplinary team. We've been awarded Investors in People Gold and 97% of staff think YHEC is a great place to work. 

Visit the YHEC Careers page regularly, or subscribe to our mailing list to find out about new vacancies. In addition to the advertised health economics jobs, we are always happy to receive enquiries from modellers, information specialists or systematic reviewers with at least two years’ experience.