San Francisco, Calif., November 17, 2014 – The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has posted the draft report, “The Comparative Clinical Effectiveness and Value of Novel Combination Therapies for the Treatment of Patients with Genotype 1 Chronic Hepatitis C Infection” for public comment. The report examines the comparative clinical effectiveness of multiple new, all-oral direct-acting antiviral agent (DAA) regimens for the treatment of hepatitis C developed by Gilead Sciences Inc., AbbVie Inc., and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. The report also assesses the potential financial impact on the health care system of several FDA-approved combination therapies, which can cost approximately $65,000 to $190,000 for a course of therapy. The report will be the subject of deliberation and vote at the next public meeting of the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF) on Thursday, December 18, 2014 in Oakland, California. Public comments on the report will be accepted through Monday, December 8, 2014 at 5:00 PM PT.

CTAF’s deliberation on the report will inform two separate policy roundtable discussions held during the afternoon of the meeting – one on clinical considerations and the other on specialty drug payment and pricing. The roundtables will feature a multidisciplinary panel of experts from the UCSF Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, the California Department of Health Care Services, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the National Association of Medicaid Directors, Gilead Sciences Inc., Express Scripts, and the University of Washington.

Meeting Details
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2014
Time: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM PT
Location: The California Endowment, Oakland Conference Center
1111 Broadway, 7th Floor
Oakland, CA, 94607

In-person tickets for the meeting are sold out. Members of the public wishing to join the waitlist for in-person tickets can do so by clicking here. The event will also be webcast live for members of the public who are unable to attend in-person; register for the webcast by clicking here. The CTAF website also includes instructions for those wishing to submit written comments prior to the meeting. Time slots for oral public comments during the meeting are currently full. Members of the public wishing to join the waitlist to deliver an oral comment during the public meeting must email by 5:00 PM PT Tuesday, December 9, 2014.

A recording of the December 18, 2014 meeting will be posted to the CTAF website approximately one week after the meeting.

About CTAF
The California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF) – a core program of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) – reviews objective evidence reports and holds public meetings to develop recommendations for how patients, clinicians, insurers, and policymakers can improve the quality and value of health care. For more information about CTAF, please visit www.ctaf.org.

About ICER
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an independent non-profit health care research organization dedicated to improving the interpretation and application of evidence in the health care system. ICER directs two core programs: CTAF, and the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC). For more information about ICER, please visit ICER’s website, www.icer-review.org.

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