Recommendation for a Pilot MCDA Tool to Support the Value-Based Purchasing of Generic Medicines in the UAE

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Pharmaceutical Policy
• Decision Science

Background:

• The UAE is enhancing pharmaceutical policies to promote local manufacturing and generic medicine use.
• Quality control is crucial for cost containment in pharmaceutical policies.
• Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) aids healthcare decisions with multiple objectives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a pilot Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tool for value-based purchasing of generic medicines in the UAE.
• To create a reusable tool supporting pharmaceutical policy decisions.

Main Methods:

• An international evidence framework was adapted for the UAE through a multistakeholder workshop.
• Nine criteria's relevance was validated locally.
• Participants ranked and weighted criteria via anonymous voting.

Main Results:

• Quality criteria, including real-world outcomes and manufacturing assurance, received the highest weights (19.8% and 17.3%).
• Evidence of equivalence (14.8%) and drug formulation (12.3%) were also highly weighted.
• Pharmaceutical acquisition cost ranked fifth (9.4%), with supply reliability, macroeconomic benefit, pharmacovigilance, and added services receiving lower weights.

Conclusions:

• Dubai policymakers emphasize value-based healthcare, incentivizing manufacturers to provide robust evidence beyond minimum requirements.
• The developed MCDA tool enhances transparency and consistency in decision-making for off-patent pharmaceuticals in the UAE.
• The MCDA tool shows potential for broader application to other health technologies.