Pharmaceutical policy at a crossroads: perspectives from Europe and the US

LSE Health presents "Pharmaceutical policy at a crossroads: perspectives from Europe and the US" - official launch of the Pharmaceutical Policy Lab. As part of LSE Health's 30th anniversary celebrations, we are delighted to host this landmark event exploring the evolving landscape of pharmaceutical policy.

Pharmaceutical policy stands at a critical juncture as healthcare systems worldwide grapple with rising costs, emerging technologies, and increasing demands for evidence-based decision-making. New products are often promoted as transformative, yet they also raise complex questions for patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders in healthcare systems. How do we assess value when clinical evidence is limited or uncertain? How can health technology assessment (HTA) systems safeguard access to safe, effective, and cost-effective treatments while supporting innovation that genuinely meets the needs of patients and society?

This event brings together leading experts from Europe and the United States to explore these pressing questions and examine how different HTA approaches are responding to contemporary challenges. Our speakers will reflect on how assessment systems serve patients, healthcare systems, and society.

The event also marks the official launch of LSE Health's Pharmaceutical Policy Lab, an international research collaboration dedicated to evaluating, informing, and shaping pharmaceutical policies that serve the public good. Through interdisciplinary research spanning health economics, policy analysis, and stakeholder engagement, the Lab seeks to maximise the benefits and minimise the harms of medicines for patients, health systems, and societies.

Meet our speakers and chair

Foluso Agboola is the Senior Vice President of Research at the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). In her role, she provides methodological guidance on health technology assessments (HTA) and manages the broader HTA process, ensuring rigour and quality, as well as collaboration with various stakeholders. In addition, Dr. Agboola oversees ICER’s evidence synthesis team and serves on ICER’s senior management team. Dr. Agboola earned her medical degree from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, and her MPH in Quantitative Methods from Harvard University. She holds a faculty position as adjunct professor at the University of Florida’s Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy Graduate Program, where she teaches courses on Pharmaceutical Health Technology Assessment.

Emily Jackson first joined the LSE in 1998. After graduating from Oxford University, she worked as a research officer at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies in Oxford. Her first teaching position was at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, and she has also taught at Birkbeck College and Queen Mary, University of London. Emily’s research interests are in the field of medical law. She has served as a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee (2005-2022), Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (2008-2012) and a Judicial Appointments Commissioner (2014-2017). She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education.

Beate Wieseler is Head of the Department of Drug Assessment at the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen, IQWiG), Germany’s Health Technology Assessment agency. At IQWiG she is responsible for the scientific assessment of pharmaceuticals, the development of assessment methods as well as in the Institute’s collaboration with German and international external parties. Currently, Beate Wieseler also is the Chair of the Methodological and Procedural Guidance Subgroup of the European HTA Coordination Group. Prior to joining IQWiG in 2005, Beate Wieseler worked in clinical research and regulatory affairs for about 10 years. Beate Wieseler holds a Diploma in Biology from the University of Bonn and a Dr. rer. nat. from the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Huseyin Naci is Associate Professor of Health Policy at LSE Health and Director of the Pharmaceutical Policy Lab. His research focuses on pharmaceutical policy, health technology assessment, and evidence-based healthcare decision-making. He will chair this discussion as we launch this exciting new research initiative.

More about this event

LSE Health (@LSEHealthPolicy) aims to expand and improve conceptual frameworks, apply new methodologies, encourage debate, and introduce new themes that will contribute to policy discussions related to health around the world. In 2025, LSE Health celebrates its 30th anniversary, and hosts this event as one of the celebratory events.

Join us on campus or register to watch the event online at LSE Live. LSE Live is the home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

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