About OHE

With over 60 years of expertise, the Office of Health Economics (OHE) is the world’s oldest independent health economics research organisation. We are a registered charity and an Independent Research Organisation.

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About Us

Every day we work to improve health care through pioneering and innovative research, analysis, and education.

As a global thought leader and publisher in the economics of health, health care, and life sciences, we work in partnership with Universities, Government, health systems and the pharmaceutical industry to research and respond to global health challenges.

Our Mission

Support better health care policies by providing insightful economic and statistical analyses of critical issues.

Our 60th Anniversary

In 2022, we celebrated our 60th anniversary, here are some of the highlights of those first 60 years…

 

What We Do

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Trusted by our collaborators

We are a trusted and well-connected collaborator, providing authoritative resources, research and analyses

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Informing and challenging

We develop evidence-based policy positions and thought leadership to inform the most challenging debates facing the life sciences sector

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Addressing urgent global needs

We highlight urgent and important issues facing health systems around the world and raise awareness of research that can help address them

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At the forefront of health economics

We combine expertise in health economics with theory and methods drawn from other fields of economics

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International and independent

We have an international reputation for independent, credible insights that shape healthcare and health policy around the world

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Driving improvements in innovation

We improve knowledge and understanding around innovation policy to support the next generation of health technologies

Our Impact

What we deliver

As a governmentrecognised Independent Research Organisation and notforprofit, our international reputation for the quality and independence of our research is at the forefront of all we do.

OHE provides independent and pioneering resources, research and analyses in health economics, health policy and health statistics. Our work informs decisionmaking about health care and pharmaceutical issues at a global level.

Since 1962 we have been commissioned to undertake agile and responsive research in a myriad of health care areas, ranging from Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) to Gene Therapies and health system effectiveness.

Through our independent Research and Policy Committees, our work is continually shaped by worldleading economists, ensuring we are always working at the frontiers of our sector.

The evidence we generate

We use the evidence we generate to promote evidence-based health care policies and the effective and efficient use of health care resources. Our work supports decision-making and raises awareness of health care policy issues, by encouraging debate and dissemination of critical health economics research.

How we are funded

OHE is an independent not-for-profit (registered charity in the UK) and research organisation. Our work is or has recently been supported directly by research grants, awards and funding from a wide range of UK and international partners including: the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), the Department of Health Policy Research Programme (PRP), the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Health Foundation, the EuroQol Foundation and a number of charitable and other organisations.

Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, OHE Consulting Ltd, OHE provides Contract Research services allowing organisations around the world to access the talent and resources of world-leading team of researchers. All of the proceeds of this work is gift-aided to the charity and supports our research activities.

Our Annual Report provides the most recent information on our funding and activities.

Our History Timeline

Over 60 years, we have a rich history of innovating across health economics and health care.

1962

The Office of Health Economics (OHE) is founded.

When the Office of Health Economics (OHE) was founded in 1962, the health care world was a vastly different place. Formal approval of drugs before…

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1962

OHE publishes its first Monograph.

OHE launches its initial publications programme, Monographs and papers that primarily address: NHS organisation, costs and financing; health care system performance in the UK and…

Progress against tuberculosis cover page
1962

OHE launches its Series on Health.

OHE launches its Series on Health with an analysis of the costs of tuberculosis and its treatment. Subsequent topics in the series covered a wide range of…

Series of Health - Obesity
1964

OHE published analyses of sources of funding on medical research.

Funding innovation. Medical science rapidly advanced in the 25 years following WWII, making it possible to treat a growing range of diseases. The issue of who pays…

The finance of medical research cover page
1964

OHE publishes an early examination of the costs of care across NHS.

Cost of the NHS. As new possibilities for treatment are developed, the costs of care inevitably rise and provoke debate about total costs and spending. An OHE publication examined…

The costs of medical care
1966

OHE research offers a new perspective on emerging issues.

Encouraging innovation. The 196667 OHE Winter Lecture series discussed a series of eight papers that offered new perspectives on emerging issues that have proven to…

Innovation and the balance of payments cover page
1967

The OHE Early Diagnosis series of eight monographs are released.

The OHE Early Diagnosis series of eight monographs are released. These are written by outside experts and underline the importance to cost and…

Innovation and the balance of payments cover page
1969

OHE addresses the growing issue of the pricing of medicines.

Pricing and innovation. A series of OHE Winter Lectures tackled the growing issue of if and how the pricing of medicines can reflect the costs…

Economics and innovation in the pharma industry cover page
1969

OHE researches the appropriate use of antibiotics to address AMR.

AMR. Antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics, already identified as a possible concern by the late 1950s, was the focus of a national UK committee (the Swann…

Antibiotics in animal husbandry cover page
1972

OHE examines the pharmaceutical industry.

Regulation and innovation. OHE sponsors a symposium that examines the relationship between pricing, profits, regulation, and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. The monograph of the…

The pharma society cover page
1972

OHE publishes providing health care in the “developing” world.

Global health. An OHE publication reviews the emerging challenges of providing health care in the “developing” world and the importance of tailoring approaches to local needs.

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Medical care in developing countries cover page
1974

OHE publishes a monograph that recounts the history of vaccines.

Vaccine development and use. OHE publishes a monograph that recounts the history of vaccines, discusses the debate about risks and benefits, and considers whether incentives for innovation are sufficient.

Vaccination cover page
1974

OHE Briefings series launched.

OHE Briefing series debuts, prepared by OHE staff and external experts on a range on a range of issues.

210 - 1994 the impact of behaviour
1975

OHE publishes research on price competition in medicines.

Pricing of medicines. OHE publishes a monograph on its “Canberra Hypothesis” which suggests that price competition in the market for medicines exists, and

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1976

The OHE Compendium series is launched.

The OHE Compendium series is launched in 1976. This was an annual publication providing a comprehensive collection of healthcare statistics. Pre

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1980

OHE publishes a Monograph.

Benefits and risks. Concern about the potential risks of prescription medicines threatens to reduce appropriate use and/or produce overregulation. The fifth in the series of OHE M

106 - 1980 a question of balance
1981

OHE is fundamental in the Health Economics Research Group (HERG).

The Health Economics Research Group (HERG) was founded in 1981 at Brunel University London under the leadership of Professor Martin Buxton. OHE research funding was key to getting this…

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1981

OHE publishes an early study by W. Duncan Reekie.

International price comparisons. OHE publishes an early study by a noted economist that sought to compare the pricing of prescriptions medicines across countries.

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119 - 1981 Price Comparisons of Identical projects
1982

OHE Briefing - overview of efforts to develop quality-of-life measures.

HTA. An OHE Briefing provides an early overview of efforts to develop a qualityoflife measures. The

127 1982 medicines and the quality of life
1985

OHE holds a key symposium on Health, Education and General Practice.

In 1985 OHE held a symposium on Health, Education and General Practice chaired by Sir John Butterfield, Regus Professor of Medicine at the University of Cambridge and

154 - 1986 health education and general
1985

OHE publishes report on the performance of the pharmaceutical industry.

Health care costs and medicines. OHE publishes a report that includes findings of a survey conducted by OHE on the performance of the pharmaceutical industry, its contribution to national…

147 - 1985 pharmaceuticals in seve
1989

OHE publishes an analysis of the impact of new medicines on NHS costs.

Health care costs and medicines. OHE publishes an analysis of the broader impact of new medicines on NHS costs, focussing on their ability…

177 - 1989 the impact of new medicines
1989

OHE publishes its first practical guide to the use of health economics.

HTA. OHE publishes its first practical guide to the use of health  economics, in conjunction with the newly established Pharmaceutical Industry Health Economics…

171 - 1989 cost benefit analysis
1991

OHE publishes research on the variation on prescribing decisions in Britain.

Prescribing decisions. An analysis by OHE of variations in prescribing across clinical practices and across Britain showed prescribing volume is not…

193 - 1991 patterns of prescribing
1993

Adrian Towse took over as director.

In April 1993 Adrian Towse became Director of OHE, taking over from OHE’s long serving founder director, Professor George TeelingSmith. At that point in time OHE had

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1994

The OHE Annual Lecture debuts.

In 1994, OHE began a series of annual lectures that examined issues critical to health economics and policy. The intent is both to educate a…

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1995

OHE and IPFMA create Health Economic Evaluations Database (HEED).

As the field of health economics grew, the available literature burgeoned. Sorting through it to find studies relevant to a health economics project became a…

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1996

OHE first published a hands-on health economics guide.

Health economics, or health technology assessment (HTA), did not exist as the field we know today when OHE was founded in 1962. Early assessments of the economic value of health care were broad and rarely…

160 - 1987 health economics prospects (1)
1999

Prof Adrian Towse is elected to the Board of Directors of ISPOR.

In 1999 OHE’s Director Adrian Towse was first elected to the Board of Directors of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). ISPOR is the largest professional…

ISPOR
1998

OHE launched a series of interactive seminars, which continues today.

The purpose of the seminars is to help identify and define emerging issues, and stimulate new thinking on perennial challenges. Each seminar involves thought leaders for the topic under…
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1999

OHE Seminar Briefings launched.

OHE Seminar Briefings launched, providing concise summaries of the presentations and discussions at OHE’s seminars. Since its inception, one of OHE’s core objectives has been to provide…

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2001

OHE at the forefront of research into the economics of biosimilars.

Since its creation the OHE has been producing leading research on the nature of competition in various pharmaceutical markets. These include support for the 2001…

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2002

OHE founds OHE Consulting Ltd.

As OHE expanded in the late 1990s, the ability to continue growing required additional funding sources to be found. With an increasing importance of health…

OHE Consulting
2002

OHE first publishes research on NICE Thresholds.

In 2002 OHE published CostEffective Thresholds: Economic and Ethical Issues edited by Adrian Towse, Clive Pritchard and Nancy Devlin. This was the proceedings…

276 - 2002 Costeffectiveness-thresholds
2005

Launch of OHE Consulting Reports.

OHE Consulting Reports debut, sharing output as agreed by the client when the content is of interest to a wider audience. The first report was

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2007

The Economics of Health Care launches.

The launch of the OHE popular interactive esource The Economics of Health Care, focusing on the UK and aimed
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For schools
2007

OHE published a guide to applied econometrics for health economists.

OHE published a comprehensive reference guide to applied econometrics for health economists. It provides an explanation of econometric methods and test statistics useful to those who wish to understand…

306- Applied Econometrics Radcliffe BIG 2007
2008

OHE Commission on NHS Outcomes, Performance and Productivity.

OHE established a Commission on NHS Outcomes, Performance and Productivity. A distinguished panel was assembled that provided expertise from academia, government, the public and private sectors and groups representing…

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2009

OHE publishes early and influential research on Payment by Results.

OHE’s Deputy Director Jon Sussex published a key paper with University of Aberdeen collaborators on Payment Models for the NHS. (Farrar et al., 2009): https://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b3047

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2009

OHE appoints its first Director of Research, Prof Nancy Devlin.

OHE appoints its first Director of Research, Prof Nancy Devlin, to establish OHE’s reputation for innovative methodological and applied health economics research.

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2009

OHE collaborates for the launch of HTAInsite.

HTAInsite was a unique resource, a subscriber database enabling researchers to elicit information on NICE HTA assessment decisions. It provided a framework capturing detailed information on all NICE HTA evaluations

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2009

OHE Briefing analyses barriers in access to medicines for rare diseases.

An OHE Briefing analyses important delays and barriers in access to medicines for rare diseases even after development and licensing are completed. The analysis compared…

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2010

OHE Research Paper launched.

OHE Research Papers debut, providing information on and encouraging discussion based on OHE’s research programme in advance of formal publication in peer reviewed journals.

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2010

OHE Consulting Reports launched.

OHE Consulting Report publications debut, sharing output as agreed by the client when the content is of interest to a wider audience.

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2010

OHE Occasional Papers launched.

OHE’s Occasional Paper series is launched to report the results of OHE’s research programme that may not be intended for publication in peer reviewed journals.

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2010

OHE’s Prof Nancy Devlin chair of the Euroqol Group’s Executive Committee.

OHE’s Prof Nancy Devlin elected as chair of the Euroqol Group’s Executive Committee, the principal scientific committee of the EuroQol Group.

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2010

OHE and University of Sheffield win a Department of Health grant.

OHE and University of Sheffield win a Department of Health grant to develop and test methods for valuing the EQ5D5L. This included…

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2011

OHE publishes a Monograph of the potential of using MCDA.

OHE publishes a monograph that offers an early, comprehensive analysis of the potential of and the challenges in using Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) as an adjunct…

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2011

OHE established a Commission on Competition.

During a period of intense debate about the role of competition in the NHS, OHE established a Commission on Competition to consider the issue. Members of the distinguished panel were drawn…

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2012

OHE publishes a report of the Commission on Competition.

The report of OHE’s Commission on Competition appears. Comprised of thought leaders from academia, think tanks and the NHS, it concludes that competition would benefit…

Competition in the NHS - Commission on Competition report
2012

OHE and University of Sheffield win an NIHR grant.

OHE and University of Sheffield win an NIHR grant to produce an EQ5D5L value set for England. This was the first…

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2014

The beginning of OHE’s Honorary Visiting Professorships.

In 2014 Adrian Towse became an Honorary Professor at the Department of Health Policy (formerly integrated within the Department of Health Policy and Social Care) at the London School of Economics…

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2016

OHE formalised its visiting fellows programme.

OHE formalised its visiting fellows programme, which offers OHE the opportunity to benefit from the expertise of distinguished academics, researchers and practitioners. Established thought leaders in their…

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2016

OHE obtained charitable status as a not-for-profit research company.

OHE obtained charitable status as a notforprofit research company, legally registered with the Charity Commissioners,

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2017

EQ-5D-5L value set for England published.

First published in 2017, OHE led the development of an EQ5D5L value set for England, facilitating the use of

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2019

Professor Graham Cookson became OHE’s third Director and first CEO.

In 2019, Professor Graham Cookson became OHE’s third Director and first CEO. An econometrician by training, Prof Cookson has a PhD from Imperial College London…

Professor Graham Cookson
2019

OHE collaborates on research on Outcome-Based Payment (OBP).

An ambitious research programme was initiated by Cancer Research UK and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSCP), who awarded OHE a research grant along with collaborators…

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2019

OHE awarded research grant.

OHE was awarded a research grant funded by the Health Foundation’s Efficiency Research Programme. Using routinely collected data, this study developed a new measure for efficiency in primary care,…

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2019

OHE launched the Masterclass Series.

OHE launched the Masterclass Series; its flagship educational programme is intended to sharpen understanding of health economics and its role in decision making. Masterclass events are collaborative, led by global experts…

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2019

OHE’s collaboration with the City Health Economics Centre (CHES).

OHE initiated a long term collaboration with the City Health Economics Centre (CHES) at City, University of London. This includes: OHE team members as honorary…

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2020

First OHE funded MSc degree students.

As part of its mission to help increase capacity in health economics in the UK, OHE began funding two students each year to work toward an MSc degree in health economics…

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2020

OHE awarded Independent Research Organization (IRO) status.

Independent Research Organization (IRO) status was awarded to OHE by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). This both offers new opportunities for research funding and recognises the quality of OHE’s independent

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2021

OHE’s Prof Mireia Jofre-Bonet becomes the convenor of the HEHoU.

Professor Mireia JofreBonet, OHE’s Chief Research Officer and Head of Education, becomes the convenor of the UK Health Economics Heads of Unit (HEHoU),…

Mireia2
2021

OHE collaborates on second phase of research programme on OBP.

For the second phase of the research funded by Cancer Research UK and GMHSCP, OHE collaborated with researchers from RAND Europe, University College London and…

Making Outcome-Based Payment a Reality in the NHS. Phase 2- Practical Considerations (November 2021)-01
2021

OHE launches OHE Bulletin a monthly newsletter.

OHE launched a monthly newsletter, providing a timely and reliable source of information and commentary on crucial topics. Each month, a leading OHE researcher or external expert curates the content, which…

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2022

OHE launched a biennial prize fund to support its charitable goals.

To mark its 60th year, OHE launched a biennial prize fund to support its charitable goal of enhancing debate on health economics. The intent is to stimulate fresh ideas…

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2022

Launch of first e-learning platform OHE EVIA Program.

The Economics of Vaccines in Africa (EVIA) Program makes history as OHE’s first fully virtual multimodule and multi

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