Horizon scanning for pharmaceuticals
Authors: Lepage-Nefkens Isabelle , Douw Karla , Mantjes Gertjan , de Graaf Gimon , Leroy Roos , Cleemput Irina 
Published: January 2025

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 -- LIST OF FIGURES 5 -- LIST OF TABLES 6 -- LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 8 -- SCIENTIFIC REPORT 12 -- 1 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 12 -- 2 WHAT IS A HORIZON SCANNING SYSTEM? 13 -- 3 METHODS 17 -- 3.1 INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON 17 -- 3.1.1 Data collection 17 -- 3.1.2 Data analysis 18 -- 3.2 DEVELOPMENT OF A PROPOSAL FOR A JOINT HSS 18 -- 3.3 FEASIBILITY STUDY 19 -- 3.3.1 Selection of products 19 -- 3.3.2 Development of a database template for data aggregation 19 -- 3.3.3 Data collection on the products 19 -- 3.3.4 Setting up company pipeline meetings 20 -- 3.3.5 Setting up meetings with medical societies 20 -- 3.3.6 Estimation of potential high financial impact 20 -- 4 INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON 21 -- 4.1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SELECTED HS SYSTEMS 21 -- 4.2 GOALS OF THE HSS 24 -- 4.3 HS UNIT AND CUSTOMER 26 -- 4.4 TIME HORIZON 27 -- 4.5 IDENTIFICATION 30 -- 4.6 FILTRATION 33 -- 4.7 PRIORITIZATION 35 -- 4.8 EARLY ASSESSMENT. 39 -- 4.9 INVOLVEMENT OF EXPERTS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS 44 -- 4.10 DISSEMINATION 44 -- 4.11 UPDATING INFORMATION 45 -- 4.12 EVALUATION OF HS SYSTEMS. 45 -- 4.13 CONCLUSION 46 -- 5 PROPOSAL FOR A JOINT BENELUXA HORIZON SCANNING SYSTEM 47 -- 5.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE COLLABORATIVE HSS 48 -- 5.2 HS PROCESS 48 -- 5.3 ORGANIZATION OF A JOINT HSS 51 -- 5.4 SCOPE 51 -- 5.5 TIME HORIZON 52 -- 5.6 IDENTIFICATION 52 -- 5.6.1 Identification through pre-set list of sources 52 -- 5.6.2 (Semi-)Automation of the scanning process 53 -- 5.7 INTERNATIONAL FILTRATION 54 -- 5.8 DATA COLLECTION 55 -- 5.8.1 Collection of minimal information to allow assessment of potential impact 55 -- 5.8.2 Collection of extended information on pharmaceuticals with potential high impact 56 -- 5.8.3 Company pipeline meetings 57 -- 5.8.4 Country-specific data collection 58 -- 5.8.5 Database 59 -- 5.9 DISSEMINATION 60 -- 5.10 SUMMARY OF PROPOSED METHODOLOGY OF COLLABORATIVE HSS 60 -- 5.11 RECOMMENDATION FOR COUNTRY-SPECIFIC PRIORITIZATION 62 -- 5.11.1 Step 1: Create filtration and prioritization criteria 62 -- 5.11.2 Step 2: Assign teams for prioritization 65 -- 5.11.3 Step 3: Filter relevant products 65 -- 5.11.4 Step 4: Choose a method for priority-setting and perform prioritization 65 -- 5.12 PRIORITIZATION FOR JOINT ACTIVITIES 67 -- 5.13 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COLLABORATIVE SYSTEM 67 -- 5.13.1 Start-up investment 67 -- 5.13.2 Annual budget 68 -- 5.13.3 Pilot phase 68 -- 6 FEASIBILITY OF INVOLVING COMPANIES AND CLINICAL EXPERTS IN BELGIUM 69 -- 6.1 RESULTS 69 -- 6.1.1 Selection of products 69 -- 6.1.2 Development of a database template for data aggregation 71 -- 6.1.3 Gathering information on the products. 71 -- 6.1.4 Company pipeline meetings 71 -- 6.1.5 Meeting with medical societies 73 -- 6.1.6 Estimation of potential high financial impact 74 -- 6.2 LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE FEASIBILITY STUDY 76 -- 7 GENERAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 78 -- 7.1 BENEFITS AND PREREQUISITES OF A PERFORMANT JOINT HSS 78 -- 7.2 WIDER SOCIETAL BENEFITS OF A JOINT HSS 79 -- 7.3 FLEXIBLE STEP-WISE IMPLEMENTATION OF A JOINT HSS 79 -- APPENDICES 80 -- APPENDIX 1. COUNTRY DESCRIPTIONS 80 -- APPENDIX 1.1. DUTCH HORIZON SCANNING SYSTEM 80 -- APPENDIX 1.2. ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND REGIONS (SKL)  SWEDEN 88 -- APPENDIX 1.3. AGENCY FOR HEALTHCARE RESEARCH AND QUALITY (AHRQ)  UNITED STATES 93 -- APPENDIX 1.4. ITALIAN HORIZON SCANNING PROJECT (IHSP) - ITALY 102 -- APPENDIX 1.5. HORIZON SCANNING RESEARCH & INTELLIGENCE CENTRE (NIHR HSRIC)  ENGLAND/WALES 108 -- APPENDIX 1.6. UK MEDICINES INFORMATION (UKMI)  UNITED KINGDOM 115 -- APPENDIX 1.7. SCOTTISH MEDICINES CONSORTIUM (SMC)  SCOTLAND 121 -- APPENDIX 1.8. ALL WALES MEDICINES STRATEGY GROUP (AWMSG)  WALES 126 -- APPENDIX 2. SCANNING AND SEARCHING RESOURCES FOR BIOLOGICALS, DRUGS AND OFF LABEL USE BY AHRQ. 131 -- APPENDIX 3. DATABASES SEARCHED BY AHRQ. 135 -- APPENDIX 4. ADAPTED LIST OF SOURCES FOR IDENTIFICATION 136 -- APPENDIX 5. EXAMPLE FOR AUTOMATION OF IDENTIFICATION PROCESSES 138 -- APPENDIX 6. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR IDENTIFICATION AID (ADAPTED FROM AHRQ) 138 -- APPENDIX 7. EXAMPLE OF A DATA COLLECTION FORM (SOURCE: NIHR HSRIC) 139 -- APPENDIX 8. PARAMETERS TO INCLUDE IN THE DATABASE 144 -- APPENDIX 9. DATA COLLECTION FORM 146 -- APPENDIX 10. COMPARISON OF DATA COLLECTED BY COMPANY 151 -- APPENDIX 11. EVALUATION FORMS 155 -- APPENDIX 11.1. STAKEHOLDERS EVALUATION FORM 155 -- APPENDIX 11.2. EXPERTS INPUT EVALUATION FORM 157 -- REFERENCES 159