Medicines of Tomorrow – Australia’s first Horizon Scanning Forum was hosted by Medicines Australia at the Shine Dome in Canberra in December 2022. With an audience of Government officials and regulators, Consumer leaders, key pharmaceutical industry and research stakeholders there was clear alignment on the importance of Horizon Scanning and the central role that consumers must play in this process.
Dr Fanny Franchini presented the PRIMCAT program, explaining how working in direct partnership with consumers and combining treatment knowledge, horizon scanning, real-world data analysis and simulation modelling leads to practical timely decision support for government regulators.
Dr Jennifer Soon explained PRIMCATs agile and pragmatic approach to Horizon Scanning, delivering quality results in a timely fashion on a modest budget.
PRIMCAT Consumer Panel Chair, Ms Sophy Athan discussed the consumer partnership role in PRIMCAT Horizon Scanning, establishing consumer relevant criteria and weighting and directly impacting the research approach and outcomes.
Professor Grant McArthur tied everything together beautifully, answering the question “What’s next” and challenging participants to think about the practical implications of Horizon Scanning.
“The most important thing about Horizon Scanning is how we use the results. Being able to predict, anticipate and plan for new technologies and new medicines is incredibly important and requires years of preparation so Horizon Scanning is vital” Dr Jennifer Soon, PRIMCAT Research Team
“The most important thing about Horizon Scanning is how we use the results. Being able to predict, anticipate and plan for new technologies and new medicines is incredibly important and requires years of preparation so Horizon Scanning is vital”
Dr Jennifer Soon, PRIMCAT Research Team
“We have to work in partnership and collaboration and there has to be action. The real objective of Horizon Scanning is to make sure we build an innovative system that enables patients to get access to innovative therapies as fast as possible”
Elizabeth Somer, CEO Medicines Australia
PRIMCAT will deliver it’s much awaited decision support tool to Australian Health Technology Assessment agencies 2023 and is currently in consultation with the Federal Department of Health to maximise the impact of this work.