The HTAi 2026 Annual Meeting took place in Istanbul, Türkiye, bringing together the global health technology assessment community to discuss the role of HTA in shaping the future of health systems.
The theme of this year’s meeting, “HTA as a System Shaper,” reflected an important shift in thinking: HTA is no longer viewed only as a technical exercise for assessing individual health technologies. It is increasingly recognised as a strategic evidence-to-policy process that can influence governance, priority-setting, equity, sustainability and long-term system resilience.
This theme was particularly relevant to discussions on China, where HTA has been developing rapidly alongside regulatory reform, national reimbursement negotiations, pharmacoeconomic guideline development and emerging complementary access pathways.
Panel Session: HTA in China
At HTAi 2026, ECHORA Global members and collaborators contributed to the panel session:
Health Technology Assessment in China: Enabling Patient Access Through Evolving Reimbursement and Policy Processes
The session was chaired by Professor Yingyao Chen from Fudan University and brought together perspectives from policy research, academia and industry.
Speakers included:
• Dr Tina Wang, Center for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS), ECHORA Global Advisory Board Member
• Dr Huajie (Lily) Jin, King’s College London and Co-founder of ECHORA Global
• Dr Thomas Butt, Ascendis Pharma
Dr Tina Wang opened the panel by outlining recent developments in China’s innovation, regulatory and reimbursement landscape, including innovative medicine approvals, the National Reimbursement Drug List negotiation process, the emerging Commercial Health Insurance Innovative Drug Catalogue and the growing role of real-world evidence.
Dr Huajie Jin then provided an academic and methodological perspective, drawing on findings from a national expert survey conducted with colleagues at Peking University. Her presentation highlighted several practical issues in China’s HTA development, including cost-effectiveness thresholds, pricing for multi-indication medicines and comparator selection.
She also highlighted the 2025 China Guidelines for Pharmacoeconomic Evaluations and a recent commentary in Pharmacoeconomics and Policy by Professor Jing Wu and Professor Gordon Liu summarising the key updates. The guideline reflects the latest professional consensus in Chinese pharmacoeconomics and HTA methodology, and provides an important window for international colleagues to understand China’s evolving HTA practice.
Dr Thomas Butt brought an industry and international market access perspective, discussing how China’s evolving HTA and reimbursement environment may affect multinational companies, China-originated innovators, global evidence generation and launch strategy.
Together, the three presentations offered complementary perspectives on China’s evolving HTA system and its relevance to patient access, innovation and global market access planning.
HTA as a System Shaper
The panel was closely aligned with the overarching theme of HTAi 2026. China’s HTA development is not only about improving technical methods for economic evaluation. It is also increasingly linked to pricing negotiation, reimbursement pathways, evidence generation, innovation incentives and patient access.
As innovative medicines enter the Chinese market more rapidly, and as reimbursement and supplementary insurance pathways continue to evolve, HTA is becoming part of a broader system-shaping process. It can help decision-makers balance innovation, affordability, access and long-term sustainability.
This makes China an important case study for the international HTA community. It demonstrates how HTA methods, policy processes and reimbursement structures may need to adapt together when health systems face rapid innovation and increasing budgetary pressure.
China’s HTA Development and Global Relevance
A key message from the panel was that China’s HTA system is moving from methodological adoption to system adaptation.
For international stakeholders, China’s evolving HTA environment is becoming increasingly relevant to global evidence generation, market access planning and launch strategy. China is no longer only a local access question. It is increasingly connected to global development plans, evidence strategy and international market access considerations.
For China-originated innovators, international HTA expectations are also becoming more important as more Chinese companies consider global development and overseas launch pathways.
Congratulations to Professor Yingyao Chen
ECHORA Global warmly congratulates Professor Yingyao Chen on becoming an HTAi Board Director.
Professor Chen has played an important role in advancing HTA, health policy and evidence-informed decision-making in China. His appointment reflects the growing visibility and leadership of Chinese HTA scholars in the international HTA community.
Professor Chen also chaired the China HTA panel at HTAi 2026 and provided valuable insights into the development of HTA and policy processes in China.
ECHORA Global’s Role
ECHORA Global aims to strengthen communication and collaboration between Chinese and international communities working in health economics, outcomes research, HTA and access.
The active participation of ECHORA members and collaborators at HTAi 2026 reflects the growing international interest in China’s HTA development, as well as the increasing contribution of Chinese scholars and professionals to global HTA discussions.
ECHORA Global will continue to support international exchange, member engagement and high-quality dialogue between China and the wider HTA and HEOR communities.
