Drug Evaluation Committee Points to keep in mind when conducting indirect comparisons in cost-effectiveness evaluations
February 2025
In January 2022, Task Force 3 of the Data Science Subcommittee’s FY2021 Continuing Tasks published a report titled “Are Population-Adjusted Methods Useful in Indirect Comparisons?” regarding population-adjusted methods such as Matching-Adjusted Indirect Comparison and Simulated Treatment Comparison, providing a detailed explanation of the theoretical aspects of these methods.Now, the Data Science Subcommittee’s FY2024 Continuing Task Force 7 has prepared a new report as a follow-up to the previous one, focusing on population adjustment methods, which have seen an increasing number of applications in health technology assessment in recent years.
Rather than focusing on theoretical aspects, this report focuses on practical considerations and examines, through past case studies of population-adjusted methods, the scenarios in which the results of such methods can be utilized in decision-making. We hope this report will serve as a useful resource for practitioners in Japan conducting indirect comparisons, including those using population-adjusted methods.
Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Drug Evaluation Committee,
, Data Science Subcommittee, FY2024 Continuing Task Force 7