HARPER — protocol template for real-world trials for evaluating treatment efficacy

Abstract

The International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) and the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) have created a joint task force, including representatives of key international stakeholders, to create a coordinated protocol template for RWE studies that assess the effect of treatment and is designed to inform decision-making. The template is based on existing transparency efforts and includes the state-of-art ideas regarding the level of detail required to ensure reproducibility of the RWE study. The underlying principle was to achieve sufficient clarity regarding research data, design, analysis and implementation to achieve the three main objectives. Firstly, to help researchers carefully consider and document the choice and justification of the key parameters of the study, secondly, to facilitate decision-making by allowing reviewers to easily assess potential bias associated with the choice, and thirdly, to ensure research reproducibility.