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The attention paid by regulatory authorities to patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and their related measures (PROMs) has progressively increased to allow for a more complete description of the patient’s health status. This work aimed at investigating the use of PROs/PROMs in relation to reimbursement agreement and innovativeness recognition by the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA). The list of European Public Assessment Reports (EPARs), downloaded from the European Medicine Agency (EMA) website, was analyzed to identify drugs authorized between 2017 and 2021. The associations between the use of PROs/PROMs in the EPARs and the reimbursement and innovativeness status in Italy were explored through Chi2 test and logistic regression. In addition, each innovativeness report was analyzed to identify any further evidence about the consideration of PROs/PROM in the decision-making process. Of the 403 EPARs analyzed, 197 (48.9%) reported the use of PROs/PROMs. A subsample of 229 drugs with a reimbursement class (A, H, or C) officially assigned by AIFA was further investigated. Of them, 49.3% reported the use of PROs/PROMs. The Chi2 test revealed a statistically significant association between the use of PROs/PROMs and innovativeness (p = 0.001) and orphan status (p = 0.012). In the logistic regression, orphan status and availability of PROs/PROMs are significant predictors of the innovativeness status. However, of the 46 innovative drugs, only 9 (19.6%) explicitly reported a consideration of a PRO/PROM in their innovativeness reports. Robust instrument’s validation, reliable data collection and growing potential’s awareness are keys to increase the consideration of PROs at every step of the drug development process.

Introduction: Health state valuation and diagnostic-therapeutic pathways at the junction between non-metastatic and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) are not well documented. We aimed at: (i) estimating the disability weights (DWs) for health states across a continuum of disease from asymptomatic non-metastatic (nmCRPC) to symptomatic metastatic state (mCRPC); (ii) mapping the diagnostic-therapeutic pathway of nmCRPC in Italy. Methods: Structured qualitative interviews were performed with clinical experts to gather information on nmCRPC clinical pathway. An online survey was administered to clinical experts to estimate DWs for four CRPC health states defined from interviews and literature review (i.e., nmCRPC, asymptomatic mCRPC, symptomatic mCRPC, mCRPC in progression during or after chemotherapy). Clinicians’ preferences for health states were elicited using the Person-Trade-Off (PTO) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) methods. DWs associated with each health state, from 0 (best imaginable health state) and 1 (worst imaginable health state), were estimated. Results: We found that the management of nmCRPC is heterogeneous across Italian regions and hospitals, especially with respect to diagnostic imaging techniques. DWs for PTO ranged from 0.415 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.208-0.623) in nmCRPC to 0.740 (95% CI 0.560-0.920) in mCRPC, in progression during or after chemotherapy. DWs for VAS ranged between 0.246 (95% CI 0.131-0.361) in nmCRPC to 0.689 (95% CI 0.583-0.795) in mCRPC, in progression during or after chemotherapy. Conclusions: Estimated DWs suggest that delaying transition to a metastatic state might ease the disease burden at both patient and societal levels.

In this viewpoint, we discuss the approach promoted by the Italian Drug Agency (AIFA) to the assessment of the value of new pharmaceuticals in the Italian Healthcare Service. On top of traditionally acknowledged components, such as quality adjusted life years gained and net costs, the overall value framework might include other elements such as productivity and adherence, equity, severity of disease, reduction in uncertainty, spillover effects. There is a residual dimension in the value framework that may capture the option value or reduction in fear of contagion for infectious disease treatments. We debate measurement issues on these elements of value and discuss open issues from a methodological and policy standpoint.