Health technology assessment (HTA) bodies evaluate the clinical and/or economic impact of new therapies to inform public reimbursement decision-making. This research evaluates the value for money of current or proposed fees for HTA in countries with mandatory cost-effectiveness HTA bodies relative to their respective public drug expenditure.

HTA appraisal fees were identified from publicly-available websites: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), Institut National d'Excellence en Santé et Services Sociaux (INESSS), and Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). Annual national public drug expenditure (ANPDE) were sourced from the National Health Service England, Canadian Institute for Health Information, and the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme.

NICE is proposing to charge GBP 126,000 (EUR 142,582) for a single technology or highly specialized technology appraisal, CADTH charges CAD 72,480 (EUR 48,576) for a Schedule A submission, INESSS charges CAD 38,921 (EUR 26,089) for the first evaluation of a new drug or new indication, and PBAC charges AUD 136,716 (EUR 87,576) for a Major Lodgment. The ANPDE in England: GBP 16 billion (EUR 18.1 billion), Canada: CAD 14.5 billion (EUR 9.7 billion), Quebec: CAD 4 billion (EUR 2.7 billion) and Australia: AUD 8.7 billion (EUR 5.6 billion). The appraisal cost to drug expenditure ratio for these countries/regions were: 126,984, 200,055, 102,772, and 63,636, respectively.

HTA submissions in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia require financial contributions from manufacturers. These contributions bear little relation to the market size and cumulatively exceed EUR 300,000 (assuming no resubmissions). By adopting charging/cost recovery models, HTA bodies are aiming to reinvest the proceeds to increase the efficiency and capacity of appraisals, expediting patient access. However, these fees may be burdensome, especially for SMEs with promising therapies for orphan/rare diseases, and they may thus have the potential to deter/delay their submissions.