Use of Medicines

Medicines aim to cure diseases, or at least relieve symptoms, to enable longer, healthier and more productive lives. Access to appropriate medicines, used sustainably, has substantial benefits for community health and related economic indicators.

Insights

Pharmacogenomics Testing: A Crucial Piece to Unlocking the Full Value of Medicines

5 June 2025

Join us for an online CERSI-PGx Health Economics Workshop on 10 June 2025, from 13:00–17:00 BST, with experts from NHS England, NICE, the University of Manchester, and Bangor University.

Publication

Understanding the Full Value of Long-Acting Therapies: less is more?

7 May 2025

Long-acting (LA) therapies represent a significant innovation in pharmaceutical development by offering a sustained drug effect with reduced administration frequency.

Three rows of identical orange prescription bottles with white lids and labels, arranged neatly in a line, increasing in height from left to right against a white background.
Publication

The Cost of Drug Shortages

16 September 2024

Across the globe, drug shortages are becoming increasingly common.

A close-up image of a collection of orange prescription bottles neatly aligned in rows, with white caps and blank labels, against a white background. The repetitive pattern and bright color highlight the pharmaceutical industry’s mass production of medication.
Insights

Drug shortages are on the rise – but what is their impact?

16 September 2024

In this article, we discuss the global issue of drug shortages. We summarise our research where we developed a framework for quantifying the cost of a shortage, and through three case studies provide illustrative estimates of these costs.

In a white background orange empty medicine holders forming an octothorpe. I holder is full and some red pills are flooding out of it.
Event

Drug Shortages: What are the causes, consequences and pathways to a solution?

5 September 2024

Across the globe, drug shortages are becoming increasingly common across a range of therapeutic areas. Earlier this year, OHE published a report looking at the Dynamics…

Individual, Health System, and Societal Impacts of Anti-seizure Medicine Use During Pregnancy
Publication

Individual, Health System, and Societal Impacts of Anti-seizure Medicine Use During Pregnancy

23 January 2024

Explore the implications of in utero exposure to anti-seizure medications (ASMs), the heightened risks of developmental problems and physical disabilities. The economic impact associated with conditions like epilepsy, stressing the urgent need for detailed risk profiles and data collection to guide interventions and reduce the societal costs linked to ASM use during pregnancy.

The Dynamics of Drug Shortages
Publication

The Dynamics of Drug Shortages

9 January 2024

Drug shortages are an industry-wide problem. Numerous factors may be considered as contributing to drug shortages across the globe. In this report, we discuss the global issue of drug shortages, summarise the main reasons for shortages as presented in the literature and our quantitative analysis. Finally, we provide recommendations for policy makers.

Insights

G7 Investments in New Antibiotics Would Pay Off – For Everyone

9 December 2022

Programs to incentivise antibiotic R&D are underway in the UK and under consideration in the US, EU, Canada, and Japan. We have assessed the benefits and costs to the members of the G7/EU and project that all G7/EU members would see big payoffs ranging from 11:1 in the UK to 28:1 for the US and Japan. Global returns from reducing the 1.27m people dying each year from AMR are even higher.

Insights

Allocating Public Spending Efficiently: Is There a Need for a Better Mechanism to Inform Decisions in the UK and Elsewhere?

16 June 2021

Our new paper explores the evidence currently being used to allocate budgets between public sector activities in the UK and its limitations. We argue that there…