We are pleased to announce the joint winners of the Helen-Clark-JoPPP Award for Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Research; Margaret Ewen, Health Action International, Amsterdam and Sabine Vogler, Austrian Health Institute, Vienna. Drs Ewen and Vogler are being presented with the award based on the scientific merit of their work, as well as the impact of their work on patients, decisions makers and on the governments.
The Award is named after Honourable Helen Elizabeth Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand. Started in 2018, the annual Helen Clark-Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (JoPPP) Award recognises the talents of exceptional researchers, who are making a significant contribution to the field of pharmaceutical policy and practice.
The Honourable Helen Elizabeth Clark, former New Zealand Prime Minister, after whom the Award is named said: "My warm congratulations go to Drs Ewen and Vogler on being awarded The Helen Clark-JoPPP Award for Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Research."
Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar, chair of the Judging Panel and Editor-in-Chief of the journal said: “This year Award Winners, Marg Ewen and Sabine Volger , both have made a significant contribution towards our understanding of pharmaceutical pricing and policy research.”
Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
Dr Margaret Ewen
Dr Margaret Ewen is Senior Projects Manager, Medicines Prices at Health Action International in Amsterdam. In addition to being a pharmacist, Margaret is an internationally-recognised expert in medicine pricing issues. She co-led the WHO/HAI Project on Medicine Prices and Availability which included developing a methodology to measure medicine prices, availability, affordability and price components. Since its publication, she has lead or provided expertise to over 100 of these surveys around the world. She has also provided pricing policy advice to many national governments. More recently she developed methodologies, and undertook studies, comparing prices of locally produced and imported medicines, and government procurement prices across nations.
Margaret currently co-leads the Addressing the Challenge and Constraints of Insulin Sources and Supply (ACCISS) Study with Molly Lepeska (HAI), David Beran (University of Geneva) and Richard Laing (Boston University School of Public Health). The ACCISS Study has conducted ground-breaking research on the global insulin market, and is currently using the evidence to improve the affordability and availability of quality-assured insulin for both health systems and individuals.
Her interests also lie in pharmaceutical promotion. In 2002/3, she led a successful campaign in Europe against the introduction of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines.Margaret was awarded a PhD at the Vrije University in Amsterdam. Prior to joining Health Action International in 2000, Margaret was a senior advisor at the Medicines Regulatory Authority (Medsafe) in her home country of New Zealand.
Dr Sabine Vogler
Dr. Sabine Vogler is Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Policies and Head of the Pharmacoeconomics Department of the Austrian Public Health Institute (Gesundheit Österreich GmbH / GÖG). She is a senior health economist with in-depth knowledge on European countries with regard to pharmaceutical pricing / prices, reimbursement and distribution, as well as cost-containment reforms, access and affordability issues. Sabine Vogler coordinated several research projects at national and European levels, including the PPRI (Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Information) and the PHIS (Pharmaceutical Health Information System) projects. She (co-) authored around 100 Austrian, European and international studies and reports, including peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. Sabine has made a significant and lasting public health impact through the creation and leadership of the Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Information (PPRI) at Austrian Public Health Institute in Vienna. Established in 2005, the network has become an essential part of cross‐national collaboration between sharing initiative consisting of more than 90 institutions (public authorities for pricing or reimbursement) in 47 countries.
In 2017, she was Visiting Fellow at the Department of Economics at the University of Bologna (Italy). More information on the activities of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Policies can be found at: https://ppri.goeg.at/
For 2018's winners, click here.
About the Award
Helen Elizabeth Clark ONZ SSI PC is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. This Award is named after her to acknowledge her significant contribution in the field of health and global development.
About the Editor
Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar is Professor in Medicines and Healthcare at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom. He is globally recognized for his research in pharmaceutical policy and practice, including the quality use of medicines, clinical pharmacy practice, access to medicines and issues related to pharmacoeconomics. He is the founding Editor of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice.
