PhD in Health Technology Assessment

The uncertainty about the added value of orphan medicinal products (OMPs) is often substantially high because the available clinical studies contain limited information about clinical outcomes and long-term effectiveness. Despite the uncertainties, there is social pressure to make these highly prized OMPs quickly available for a small group of patients with life-threatening conditions. The question is whether a cyclic Health Technology Assessment (HTA) approach could contribute to more controlled and affordable access to these medicines.

Your job

You will be on the frontline of developing a cyclic HTA approach to OMPs. Your work will focus on:

• mapping current international activities on cyclic HTA for OMPs. The emphasis will be on which elements of cyclic HTA approach, such as horizon scanning, scientific advice, assessment of efficacy and cost-effectiveness, and appropriate use, should have an initial priority in establishing cyclic HTA of OMPs;
• assessing whether and how the available national and international horizon scanning programmes maybe used to facilitate cyclic HTA of OMPs;
• evaluating current scientific methods for determining the value of OMPs (relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness) and considering whether new, more experimental methods might be used in the future;
• determining the role of international patient registries for orphan diseases in monitoring appropriate care and using managed entry arrangements for OMPs.

The methods you will apply to study these questions include comparative document analyses, quantitative descriptive and association studies, and complex systems analyses.

This PhD position is part of the Academic Research Network HTA, a collaboration between the National Health Care Institute (Zorginstituut Nederland (ZIN)), Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Utrecht University. The network aims to closely bridge HTA research and HTA policy by supporting specific HTA research projects closely linked to policy questions. That means you will work closely with other PhD candidates within this network and structurally interact with the HTA policy officers at ZIN. Moreover, your work will entail close collaboration with stakeholders such as patients, clinicians and health technology developers on a national and international level.

Your qualities

We are looking for a candidate who meets the following criteria:

• an MSc in pharmaceutical or (bio)medical sciences, health economics and/or health technology assessment, epidemiology, or another relevant field;
• the ability and enthusiasm to learn quantitative and qualitative methods within Health Technology Assessment;
• an interest in cross-disciplinary work within Health Technology Assessment;
• the ability to work independently, be self-reflective, and take initiative and responsibility for your projects.
• good oral and written communication skills in English and Dutch are essential to ensure effective collaboration and communication with the Dutch health technology assessment stakeholders’ community.

We consider it a plus if you have experience with:

• complex health systems (i.e. international health policies);
• data analyses; qualitative (e.g. NVivo) and/or quantitative (e.g. R, SAS, or SPSS);
• working with different types of stakeholders, such as HTDs, clinicians, and healthcare decision-makers from public institutes or governments;
• working in a dynamic environment on multiple projects simultaneously;
• teaching graduate students and supervising bachelor and master research projects within the pharmaceutical policy domain.

Our offer

• a position (1.0 FTE) for one year, with an extension to a total of four years upon successful assessment;
• a full-time gross salary between €2,770 in the first year and €3,539 in the fourth year of employment in scale P of the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (CAO NU);
• 8% holiday bonus and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.