Horizon scanning in oncology

Duration: since Oktober 2009

Background: The establishment of a Horizon Scanning System for anticancer drugs is an important tool to prepare Austrian hospitals for new/ emerging medicines. After a first concept was developed and tested (July 2007 and May 2008) our project "Horizon Scanning in Oncology” was implemented as a routine programme at the LBI-HTA to facilitate the evidence-based use of anticancer therapies and of pre-estimating their potential financial implications to better inform decision-makers before the routine introduction of anti-cancer drugs into clinical practice. Between 2009 and 2019, 91 early assessments have been conducted for new and relevant oncological drugs.

Since January 2020, the Horizon-Scanning-System has changed, due to the increasing cross-national cooperation’s between HTA institutions, like the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA).

Therefore, the website of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be scanned concerning positive opinions from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). Fact sheets will be conducted for all pharmaceutical cancer therapies, irrespective of the indication (solid & blood tissue cancer drugs). These include the most important information on the currently available evidence (efficacy and safety) as well as a risk of bias assessment and an evaluation of the clinical benefit via the Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale from the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO-MCBS).

Method:

• regular and systematic scanning of the EMA website
• fact sheets (including ESMO-MCBS assessments & risk of bias)
• dissemination of reports