Principal Analyst / Specialist / Senior Specialist (Drug & Vaccine Evaluation)

The Agency for Care Effectiveness (ACE) was established by the Ministry of Health in August 2015 as the national health technology assessment (HTA) and clinical guidance agency to support providers, patients , and payers make better-informed decisions about patient care.

ACE provides independent evidence-based evaluations of health technologies (e.g. drugs, vaccines, medical technologies, cell and gene therapies) to inform funding decisions and produces technology guidance's on their appropriate use; and develops clinical guidance to inform healthcare professionals on specific areas of clinical practice. To improve patients’ access to affordable treatments, ACE conducts value-based pricing negotiations with manufacturers to ensure prices of selected health technologies are commensurate with the value the technology provides based on proven clinical outcomes. Efforts to support subsidy implementation of health technologies evaluated by ACE and utilisation review of the impact of subsidy decisions are also part of ACE’s mandate.

ACE also develops and delivers educational materials and programmes for healthcare professionals and consumers to drive the practice and consumption of appropriate care respectively.

Staff within the Drug and Vaccine Evaluation team support national clinical policy decision making through evidence-based assessments; and produce guidance to drive appropriate care.

As a Principal Analyst/Specialist/Senior Specialist in the Drug and Vaccine Evaluation team, you will be responsible for a) conducting HTA on new and existing drugs, vaccines and precision medicine in Singapore by collating, analysing and synthesising qualitative and quantitative clinical and economic evidence to inform national subsidy decisions; b) developing guidance and educational materials informed by evidence-based decision-making to shape prescribing behaviour; c) working with stakeholders, including clinical experts, drug companies, and senior staff within public healthcare institutions and MOH to facilitate successful subsidy implementation of recommendations and d) evaluating the clinical and cost impact of implementation of ACE guidance.

Job Responsibilities:Technical evaluationLiaise with clinical experts and other stakeholders to better understand local clinical management of specific conditionsReview pricing proposals and evidence submissions for subsidy consideration from drug companiesCritically appraise published evidence on the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs, vaccines and precision medicine and potential budget impactAssess the completeness of the evidence base, identifying gaps and highlighting important issues for discussion by relevant staff or Committee membersConduct systematic reviews, meta-analysis and economic evaluations (when required) to inform decision-making using standardised methodsPrepare evaluation reports, guidance documents and other related products for internal and external disseminationDraft manuscripts for publication in select journals in collaboration with key clinical experts to increase visibility of ACE’s technical evaluations

Planning & organisationParticipate in and assist with the coordination of key internal meetings such as scoping workshops, committee meetings and meetings with senior managementIn conjunction with the Lead Specialist, ensure adequate operational technical capacity and resourcing for each project

Implementation & evaluation of impactWork with planning and policy team within ACE and other stakeholders within the public healthcare institutions, and other MOH departments to ensure successful implementation of guidance and subsidySupport efforts to evaluate the impact of drug guidance in terms of clinical outcomes, system impact, and costs

Communication & engagementPreparing and presenting structured summaries of evidence and specialist advice to ACE’s committees to facilitate discussion on possible recommendationsMaintain links with external academic, professional and clinical institutions to ensure current best practicePromote technical work of ACE internationally to increase the Agency’s visibility as a centre for technical excellence in HTADraft written responses to comments and queries received from stakeholdersDevelop educational collaterals and communication pieces which are relevant to stakeholders’ needsProvide Secretariat support to MOH Drug Advisory CommitteeShare ACE’s drug evaluation processes and methods and guidance documents with industry and clinical stakeholders through targeted workshops and meetings to outline engagement opportunities, encourage participation in ACE evaluations and address specific technical or implementation issues relating to ACE’s work

Commissioning & quality assuranceProvide quality assurance for externally commissioned projects as well as internal work conducted by other team members (peer-review)Ensure consistency across documents produced in terms of format, content and acceptable quality

Job Requirements:Degree in healthcare or science fieldPost graduate qualifications in health economics, public health, precision medicine, statistics or epidemiology or equivalent level of knowledge acquired through research experience and further training/developmentAt least 3 years of relevant experience in HTA for the Specialist role and 5 years of relevant experience in HTA for the Senior Specialist roleUnderstanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare, critical appraisal and the interpretation and synthesis of health care research evidenceUnderstanding of methodology to conduct clinical and cost-effectiveness analyses of health technologies, and produce health technology assessment (HTA) reportsWorking knowledge of all of the following areas and specialist knowledge in at least one of the following:

Health economicsMedical statisticsClinical trialsPublic healthHealth policyEpidemiologySystematic reviews

Ability to gather data, analyse, critique and synthesise complex information and prepare guidance documents, policy papers and briefing documentsExperience and familiarity with databases, such as Pubmed/Medline, Embase and Cochrane, and grey literatureFamiliarity with conducting internet searches of various websites including regulatory and HTA agencies, and manufacturer webpagesAbility to anticipate the system-wide impact of recommendations to subsidise particular treatments including the impact on other hospital units, patients, and the society as a whole is desirable.Specialist knowledge of assessing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of precision medicine in HTA desirable.Ability to write succinctly and translate complex technical information into plain English for different audiencesA commitment to excellence in quality of research and outputsAbility to prioritise work efficiently and effectively to meet deadlinesEffective and persuasive communicator demonstrating oral, written and presentation skills with a high degree of personal credibility and sensitivityAbility to establish effective working relationships with a range of professionals both within and outside MOHAbility to think and plan strategically and to exercise sound judgement in the face of conflicting pressuresA general understanding of the local health system and the social, political, economic and technical context within which MOH operates is desirable.Experience working within an academic, clinical or health services research environment and supporting a multidisciplinary team is desirable.Ability to use standard Microsoft packages. Familiarity with specialist statistics and/or health economics software packages (TreeAge, STATA) desirable.For the Senior Specialist role, line management or mentoring experience of junior staff members desirable.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified