Report of the Expert Committee for the Selection and Inclusion of Medicines in the Pan American Health Organization Strategic Fund – July 2013

Abstract

Executive Summary The inaugural meeting of the Expert Committee for the Selection and Inclusion of Medicines in the Pan American Health Organization Strategic Fund was held at the Headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington, D.C., on 17-18 July 2013. Experts from the Region of the Americas where convened to provide recommendations to the PAHO Director for the potential inclusion of eight medicines in the Strategic Fund Medicine List. The names of the members of the Expert Committee and their corresponding declarations of interests are provided in the full report. The Expert Committee reviewed applications for eight medicines for the treatment of noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and immunosuppressive medicines used to prevent graft rejection after transplantation. The Committee evaluated the presented evidence regarding effectiveness, safety and cost in comparison to alternative treatments already present in the Strategic Fund Medicine List. The Expert Committee issued the following recommendations to the PAHO Director: Include six medicines (chlorthalidone, clopidogrel, losartan, mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus and trastuzumab) in the Strategic Fund Medicine List. Reject two medicines (lisinopril and sirolimus) in the Strategic Fund Medicine List PAHO in its function as the secretariat of the Expert Committee prepared the medicine dossiers at the request of Member States and/or PAHO Technical Units. The product dossiers and a summary of the committee’s evaluations are available in the full report. The Committee worked exclusively on evaluating the applications for potential inclusion in the Strategic Fund Medicine List, which enabled PAHO to adequately respond to the needs of PAHO Member States. Due to this specific function and objective, this committee does not seek to replace or complement the work performed by WHO in developing the Essential Medicine List or by Member State pharmacotherapeutic committees who decide to include or exclude medicines from national essential medicine lists. As a result, the recommendations issued by this Committee should not be utilized as references for the development of other essential medicine lists or treatment guidelines.