CER Daily Newsfeed

Themes Shaping ISPOR 2026: The Growing Relevance of HEOR as a Strategic, Future-Ready Function

(5/13, The Evidence Base) reports “...In this fourth article in our “Themes shaping ISPOR 2026” series, we highlight sessions at the conference that position HEOR not as a downstream function, but as a strategic capability embedded across organizations...Can new approaches to estimating dynamic efficiency help to maintain both access and innovation in pharmaceutical markets? Date and time: Tuesday May 19, 2026, 4:45pm - 5:45pm...Speakers: Robert B McQueen (University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science), Anirban Basu (University of Washington) and Julie Patterson (National Pharmaceutical Council).” Full

How the Waste in Healthcare Drives the U.S. Debt

(5/13, James Weinstein, Trib Live) comments “...The pattern is clear: High-value care is underused, supply drives overuse and preference-sensitive decisions proceed without informed consent — failures that demand better tools to link evidence, capture patient preferences and document decisions at scale. The fixes are clear, too: organized delivery, shared decision-making, comparative-effectiveness research and payment tied to outcomes.” Full

New Data Show Semaglutide's Effects on Depression and Migraine

(5/12, Ashley Gallagher, MA, Drug Topics) reports “...The most striking data for pharmacists involves semaglutide’s impact on quality-of-life conditions that frequently co-occur with obesity. In a large-scale real-world study of over 34,000 women, those taking semaglutide experienced a 42% to 45% lower risk of migraine starting 6 months after initiation compared to those on menopausal hormone therapy alone. Furthermore, the study indicated a 25% lower risk of depression.” Full

How Value-Based Care Could Finally Fix What’s Broken in Autism Treatment

(5/13, Dr. Suzanne Goh, MedCity News) comments “...Fee-for-service reimbursement doesn’t pay for results. It pays for hours. In autism care, that has created the wrong incentive: the more therapy hours a provider bills, the more revenue they generate, regardless of whether those hours are producing meaningful progress for the child...Value-based care flips that incentive entirely. Instead of paying for hours delivered, payers are reimbursed based on measurable outcomes, such as developmental progress, family functioning, and reduced crisis utilization.” Full

Aesthetic Medicine Needs Stronger Scientific Evidence

(5/13, Dr. Daniela Estrella, KevinMD.com) comments “...There is a need for stronger integration between aesthetic practice and evidence-based medicine. This includes better clinical studies, longer follow-up, and more transparent reporting of outcomes and complications. Aesthetic medicine is not outside the scope of medicine. It is part of it. And as such, it should be held to the same standards. Innovation should not be slowed. But it must be aligned with the principles that define good medical practice.” Full

White House MFN Push In Foreign Markets Could Backfire On US, Limit Access

(5/12, Maaisha Osman, Pink Sheet) reports "...The [MFN drug pricing framework] assumes about a 30% reduction in US net drug prices, which would require the eight reference countries to collectively absorb about $200bn more in annual drug spending. ‘That’s simply not going to happen,’ said Brian Reid, a consultant at Reid Strategic. He argued many foreign governments lack the budget flexibility to sustain the increases and are more likely to restrict access to new medicines instead. ‘They’ll say no to new drugs,’ Reid said. " Subscription Required