Priority setting for health innovation and Early Health Technology Assessment for supporting research and development of medical innovation in Thailand (Fiscal Year 2026)
End : 30 September 2026
Priority setting for health innovation and Early Health Technology Assessment for supporting research and development of medical innovation in Thailand (Fiscal Year 2026)
About Project
The development of medical innovation is one of Thailand’s key strategic priorities as outlined in the 13th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2023–2027). Milestone 4 identifies Thailand’s ambition to become a high-value medical and wellness hub, with the goal of strengthening the country’s capacity to generate economic value from health products and services while reducing dependence on imported medical equipment. However, Thailand has not yet achieved the desired level of success in medical innovation development. Many domestically developed innovations have not progressed into registered products that are commercially available on the market. This situation results from multiple factors, one of the most important being the lack of technology assessment during the innovation development stage, known as Early Health Technology Assessment (early HTA). Early HTA is a process for assessing the potential impacts of applying a technology in clinical practice or the daily lives of the population under different technological characteristics and specifications. Such assessments enable investors and innovators to identify the desired target characteristics or specifications that technologies should achieve in order to maximize market demand, commonly referred to as the Target Product Profile (TPP).
Appropriate technology assessment during the innovation development stage can help reduce the costs associated with medical innovation development. Investors and innovators can make more accurate decisions regarding which innovations should continue to receive support and which should be discontinued at an earlier stage. In addition, early HTA provides clearer direction for innovation development through the establishment of a well-defined TPP, thereby shortening the overall development timeline. Furthermore, when early HTA is applied to innovations intended for developing countries, it can ensure that these innovations are better aligned with the context and needs of the local healthcare system.
Under this project, research will be conducted to assess the level of awareness and understanding among Thai innovators regarding the use of technology assessment in health innovation development, and to compare these findings with innovators in other countries. The project will also investigate the challenges faced by innovators, prioritize and select innovation development projects for technology assessment, and conduct economic evaluations of health innovations during the development stage as illustrative case studies. In addition, the project will develop methodological guidelines for economic evaluation in health innovation development, including a reference case for reporting results to support innovation development processes. Training on economic evaluation methods for health innovation development will also be provided to innovators and academics.
The successful implementation of this project will enable Thailand to develop health innovations suitable for use within the national health insurance system, allowing patients and target populations to directly benefit from domestically developed innovations in line with the objectives of the Thailand Science Research and Innovation Fund (TSRI). These innovations may also be exported internationally, contributing to the country’s economic growth. The proposed system will bridge the gap between innovators, manufacturers and distributors, policymakers, and physicians responsible for technology adoption at the national level, thereby promoting the sustainable success of Thailand’s research and innovation ecosystem.
