# Health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) services Specialist research organizations that build the economic and clinical-outcomes evidence pharmaceutical and biotech companies need to justify a product's value to payers and health-technology-assessment bodies — modeling cost-effectiveness, synthesizing real-world evidence and preparing HTA dossiers. Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/heor-b2b-services/ Updated: 2026-08-18 ## Overview and value chain Markers: [EC: Health-economics evidence generation & HTA dossier services | OECD: Bioeconomy policy & governance | Regulator: none — private research and consulting practice, not a licensed regulatory function] Health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) as a B2B service is a category in which specialist research organizations build the economic and clinical-outcomes evidence pharmaceutical and biotech companies need to justify a product's value to payers and health-technology-assessment (HTA) bodies, work increasingly pulled earlier into the development timeline. RTI Health Solutions is a globally recognized research organization dedicated to improving healthcare decisions through evidence generation, with 2026 industry surveys noting HEOR's growing influence on trial design and value strategy even as resources remain constrained. Evidera (part of PPD/Thermo Fisher Scientific) demonstrates a product's economic value through advanced modeling and evidence synthesis, and is actively applying AI and real-world data to strengthen evidence generation across the therapy lifecycle. OPEN Health runs a dedicated HEOR and market-access practice, presenting research at ISPOR 2026 alongside the field's other major players. PRECISIONheor contributes to the field's methodological debate, including work on structuring payer-tradeoff analysis ahead of market-access decisions. Cytel applies AI to HEOR through case studies navigating regulatory and HTA guidance, alongside its established biostatistics practice, and analyzes how US drug-pricing reform could affect pharma HEOR evidence generation. ICON plc, a clinical research organization providing outsourced clinical development and commercialization services, runs a global health-economics, outcomes-research and epidemiology team supporting drug reimbursement and market-access strategy. The key directions of HEOR B2B services are: 1. **Cost-effectiveness and economic modeling:** building the quantitative models that demonstrate a product's economic value relative to existing standards of care. 2. **Real-world evidence (RWE) synthesis:** generating and synthesizing evidence from real-world clinical practice to complement randomized-trial data for payer and HTA submissions. 3. **HTA dossier development:** preparing the specific evidence dossiers required by health-technology-assessment bodies to support a reimbursement or coverage decision. 4. **AI-assisted evidence generation:** applying AI and real-world data analytics to accelerate and strengthen evidence generation across the drug-development and commercialization lifecycle. ### Sectoral value chain ``` [Evidence-strategy planning] ──> [Economic model & RWE study design] ──> [Data collection & evidence synthesis] │ (HTA/payer requirement mapping) │ [Post-submission evidence updates] <──── [HTA/payer decision outcome] <─── [Dossier submission] ``` ### Value chain levels | Level | Description | Key inputs/outputs | |:---|:---|:---| | **Evidence-strategy planning** | Determining the economic and outcomes evidence a product will need for its target markets' payers and HTA bodies. | **In:** Clinical development plan, target-market list.
**Out:** Evidence-generation strategy. | | **Study design** | Designing the economic models and real-world-evidence studies specified by the evidence strategy. | **In:** Evidence-generation strategy.
**Out:** Study protocols and model designs. | | **Data collection and synthesis** | Collecting clinical, economic and real-world data and synthesizing it into a coherent evidence base. | **In:** Study protocols, clinical/RWE data sources.
**Out:** Synthesized evidence base. | | **Dossier submission** | Compiling the evidence base into the specific dossier format required by a target HTA body or payer. | **In:** Synthesized evidence base, HTA/payer requirements.
**Out:** Submitted HTA/payer dossier. | | **HTA/payer decision outcome** | The HTA body or payer reviews the dossier and issues a coverage or reimbursement decision. | **In:** Submitted dossier.
**Out:** Coverage/reimbursement decision. | | **Post-submission evidence updates** | Generating additional evidence to support ongoing coverage, respond to payer queries, or support a renewal or appeal. | **In:** Coverage/reimbursement decision.
**Out:** Updated evidence supporting ongoing access. | Cross-cutting technologies of the sector: - **Real-world-evidence modeling:** economic and outcomes models built on real-world clinical-practice data rather than randomized-trial data alone. - **HTA dossier development:** the specific practice of assembling evidence into the format and structure required by a given health-technology-assessment body. - **AI-assisted evidence synthesis:** applying AI and real-world data analytics to accelerate evidence generation and synthesis across the HEOR workflow. --- ## US The United States hosts the largest concentration of dedicated HEOR research organizations, several combining decades of health-economics methodology with newly emerging AI-assisted evidence-generation practices. ### RTI Health Solutions' evidence-generation practice, Evidera's AI-driven modeling, PRECISIONheor's payer-tradeoff methodology, Cytel's AI/HTA guidance navigation - **RTI Health Solutions:** a globally recognized research organization dedicated to improving healthcare decisions through evidence generation, with HEOR's role expanding earlier into trial design and value strategy even as resources remain constrained. - **Evidera (PPD/Thermo Fisher Scientific):** demonstrates a product's economic value through advanced modeling and evidence synthesis, actively applying AI and real-world data to strengthen evidence generation across the therapy lifecycle. - **PRECISIONheor:** contributes to the field's methodological debate, including work on structuring payer-tradeoff analysis ahead of market-access decisions. - **Cytel:** applies AI to HEOR through case studies navigating regulatory and HTA guidance, alongside its established biostatistics practice, and analyzes potential impacts of US drug-pricing reform on pharma HEOR evidence generation. --- ## CN China is covered qualitatively rather than through a live-screened Chinese vendor: candidate Chinese HEOR consultancies searched during this screen returned no confirming 2026 source, so no Chinese company is tabled below. Chinese pharmaceutical developers seeking HTA and reimbursement evidence, including for the country's own National Reimbursement Drug List process, typically work with the global HEOR firms listed here or with domestic health-economics research institutes whose specific commercial consulting practices could not be confirmed in this screen. ### China's HTA and reimbursement-list evidence needs served without a confirmed domestic specialist - **Global-firm engagement pattern:** Chinese pharmaceutical developers pursuing National Reimbursement Drug List inclusion or international market access typically engage the global HEOR firms listed in this article. - **Domestic gap:** no Chinese-headquartered HEOR consultancy confirmed by a live 2026 source was found during this screen. --- ## EU Europe hosts specialist market-access and HEOR practices operating across the continent's fragmented national health-technology-assessment systems. ### OPEN Health's dedicated HEOR and market-access practice, ICON plc's global health-economics and epidemiology team - **OPEN Health:** runs a dedicated HEOR and market-access practice, presenting research at ISPOR 2026 alongside the field's other major players. - **ICON plc:** a clinical research organization providing outsourced clinical development and commercialization services, runs a global health-economics, outcomes-research and epidemiology team supporting drug reimbursement and market-access strategy. --- ## Leading companies and research institutes | Company / Institute | Country | Key products / platforms | Tech features | Status 2026 | |:---|:---|:---|:---|:---| | **RTI Health Solutions** | 🇺🇸 USA | Evidence-generation research | Growing HEOR influence on trial design | commercial | | **Evidera (PPD)** | 🇺🇸 USA | Economic modeling & evidence synthesis | AI and real-world-data-driven modeling | commercial | | **OPEN Health** | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | HEOR & market-access practice | Active ISPOR research presence | commercial | | **PRECISIONheor** | 🇺🇸 USA | Payer-tradeoff methodology research | Contributes to HEOR methods debate | commercial | | **Cytel** | 🇺🇸 USA | AI-assisted HEOR & biostatistics | HTA/regulatory guidance navigation | commercial | | **ICON plc HEOR** | 🇮🇪 Ireland | Global HEOR & epidemiology team | Reimbursement/market-access strategy support | commercial | --- ## Tech stack and innovations The HEOR B2B services technology stack combines established health-economics methodology with an emerging layer of AI-assisted evidence generation: 1. **Real-world-evidence modeling:** - Firms such as Evidera build economic and outcomes models on real-world clinical-practice data, complementing randomized-trial evidence for payer and HTA submissions. 2. **AI-assisted evidence synthesis:** - Cytel and Evidera apply AI and real-world data analytics to accelerate evidence generation and navigate regulatory and HTA guidance more efficiently. 3. **HTA dossier development:** - OPEN Health and ICON plc assemble evidence into the specific format and structure required by target health-technology-assessment bodies, supporting reimbursement decisions across multiple jurisdictions. --- ## Value chains and production pipelines ### Industrial pipeline for a HEOR evidence-generation engagement ``` ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 1. Evidence-strategy │ ───> │ 2. Study design │ │ planning │ │ │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 4. Dossier submission │ <─── │ 3. Data collection & │ │ │ │ synthesis │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ 5. HTA/payer decision │ ───> │ 6. Post-submission │ │ outcome │ │ evidence updates │ └───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ ``` #### Stage 1: Evidence-strategy planning The HEOR firm determines the economic and outcomes evidence a product will need for its target markets' payers and HTA bodies. #### Stage 2: Study design Economic models and real-world-evidence studies are designed to generate the specific evidence the strategy calls for. #### Stage 3: Data collection and synthesis Clinical, economic and real-world data are collected and synthesized into a coherent evidence base supporting the product's value claims. #### Stage 4: Dossier submission The synthesized evidence base is compiled into the specific dossier format required by a target HTA body or payer and submitted. #### Stage 5: HTA/payer decision outcome The HTA body or payer reviews the dossier and issues a coverage or reimbursement decision, sometimes requesting additional evidence first. #### Stage 6: Post-submission evidence updates The HEOR firm generates additional evidence to support ongoing coverage, respond to payer queries, or support a renewal or appeal of the original decision.