DRG Abacus leads the way in the publication of meta-analysis and NMA capabilities to support reimbursement activities globally

BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A recently published paper analysing global research collaborations for Network Meta-Analysis (NMA) has placed DRG Abacus¹ as the third most prolific consultancy in terms of NMA publications.

Network meta-analysis is commonly used to determine the relative efficacy of treatments for a condition and to inform economic decision models to estimate their relative cost-effectiveness. Network meta-analysis is acknowledged as an appropriate methodology to inform economic analyses by HTA agencies world-wide including NICE, the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) in Germany, the French Haute Autorite de la Sante (HAS), and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee in Australia (PBAC), as well as emerging national agencies in Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, and Ireland.

The paper, published in the scientific journal PLOS One, characterised global patterns of published NMAs between 1997 and 2015. The research found that 81% of NMAs identified were published in the last 5 years with the UK leading in terms of the volume of the number of published NMAs.

DRG Abacus were one of the first agencies to offer in-house meta-analysis and NMA capabilities to support reimbursement activities globally. We have been conducting robust meta-analyses for over 5 years, in which time we have developed a high level of expertise and established strong academic links with pioneers in the field ahead of much larger global consultancies.

Comments from Dr. Sarah Batson, Senior Systematic Review (SR) & NMA consultant at Decision Recourses Group: 

"It is great so see that the NMA research at DRG Abacus has been recognized within this social network analysis publication. We continue to work with leading academics to develop NMA methods as part of our thought leadership program and have several exciting projects in the pipeline."

Comments from Dr. Stephen Mitchell, Senior SR consultant at Decision Recourses Group: 

"It is gratifying that our pioneering work in the meta-analysis field has been acknowledged in this way and also to see how our statistical offering has expanded even since this publication under Sarah's leadership."

To obtain copies of the research papers published by Dr. Sarah Batson and Dr. Stephen Mitchell, or to contact them for further comments, please email Access@TeamDRG.com.

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About Decision Resources Group
DRG, a subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises Ltd., offers best-in-class, high-value data, analytics and insights products and services to the healthcare industry, delivered by more than 1,000 employees across 17 offices in North America, Europe and Asia. DRG provides the Life Sciences, Provider, Payer and Financial Services industries the data, tools, insights and advice they need to compete and thrive in an increasingly complex and value-based marketplace. decisionresourcesgroup.com.

DRG Abacus, part of Decision Resources Group's consulting arm, provides integrated health economics and outcomes research, as well as market access solutions throughout the product life-cycle. We balance scientific rigor with commercial awareness, differentiating ourselves from our competition through innovation, technical excellence and design.

¹ Decision Resources Group acquired Abacus International, which is now known as DRG Abacus, in 2012; this paper refers to DRG Abacus as Abacus International.

For more information, contact:

Tori McClain
Decision Resources Group
617-747-9054
tmcclain@teamdrg.com

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