Our Board

Ron Akehurst

Executive Chair

Ron joined BresMed and the Board in 2011. He has been instrumental in shaping the field of health economics as an academic, having founded both the York Health Economics Consortium at the University of York and the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield. Ron has held a number of UK government policy roles, including that of Economic Adviser at national and regional levels and membership of multiple committees of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); currently he sits on the Highly Specialised Technologies Committee. He is also a member of the Rare Diseases Advisory Group (RDAG) for NHS England and is Special Advisor to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Access to Medicines and Medical Devices. Ron continues to utilize his years of experience and expertise at BresMed, not only leading on business development and working with Nick and the rest of the Board to shape the direction of the company, but also actively working on client projects.

In his spare time, Ron sings with his folk band and walks in the Lake District.

What Ron says about BresMed: “BresMed has succeeded as a company by pursuing not only technical excellence but mastery of the environments in which HTA submissions must be made. Our aspirations are to remain at the cutting edge of the industry.”

Curriculum vitae

Employment history

2012-Present Professor Emeritus School of Health and Related Research, The University of Sheffield

2011-Present Chairman BresMed, Sheffield

1998-2010 Dean School of Health and Related Research, The University of Sheffield

1996-1998 Chair of Executive Board School of Health and Related Research, The University of Sheffield

1993-1996 Founding Director, Centre for Health and Related Research The University of Sheffield

1993- 2012 Professor of Health Economics School of Health and Related Research, The University of Sheffield

1986-1993 Founding Director, York Health Economics Consortium The University of York

1981-1986 Senior Fellow, Institute of Social and Economic Research The University of York

1975-1977 Economic Adviser Department of Health and Social Security, London (on leave of absence from University of Lancaster)

1972-1981 Lecturer in Economics The University of Lancaster

1970-1972 Research Fellow, Institute of Social and Economic Research The University of York

Research interests

All aspects of health economics; application of microeconomic theory to problems of evaluation, production and behaviour in a health context; using economic evaluative methodology to assist health care decision making; getting more health output from the clinical research base; Health Technology Assessment.

Therapeutic areas of expertise

Extensive experience with a particular interest in rare diseases

Chairs and Memberships

Present

2015–Present Honorary Professor, ELTE University, Budapest, Hungary

2013–Present Member of the Rare Diseases Advisory Group (RDAG), NHS England

2013–Present Member, NICE Highly Specialised Technologies Committee

March 2010-Present External Assessor – National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centres of Research Excellence Scheme (CRE), Australia

June 2009–Present Honorary Member, National Institute for Health Research Faculty

2007-Present Visiting Professor at Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary

Previous

2013-2015 Member, Alzheimer’s Society Grant Advisory Board

2010–2013 Member, Advisory Group for National Specialised Services (AGNSS), Department of Health, UK

2010-2016 Member, International Academic Council of UdG Medicine, University of Girona, Spain

2010-2016 Member, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Diagnostics Advisory Committee

2009-2012 Member, Innovation Research Board (IRB),

2012 Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

2010-2012 Member, Sheffield Quality Improvement Academy Steering Group, NHS Sheffield Primary Care Trust

2008–2010 Chair of the University of Sheffield Senate Budget Committee (SBC)

2007-2008 Member, NICE Methods Review Workshop

2007-2008 Member, NICE Single Technology Appraisal (STA) Reference Review Group

2008-2010 Member, Research Funding Board – National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research Programme

2007–2008 Joint Chair of Scientific Review Committee, European Conference of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research, Athens, November 2008

2006-2008 Member, Scientific Committee for European Conference on Health Economics, Rome 2008

2006 Member, External Review of Birmingham Health Economics Facility Committee

2005–2006 Member, Public Health Intervention Advisory Committee for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)

2005-2007 Member, Health Services Research Network Governing Board, elected by members category

2004-2005 Member, International Health Economics Association (iHEA) Scientific Committee, Barcelona 2005

2004-2007 Member, Department of Health National Co-ordinating Centre for Research Capacity Development, Research Capacity Development Steering Committee

2004-2007 Member, National RDSU Network Steering Committee

2004 Chair, Department of Health Review of CHSS, University of Kent and Brighton

2004 Member, Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) Review on behalf of the Department of Health, R&D Directorate

2004 Member, Department of Health Committee on Research Implications of the Public Health White Paper (Chair, Lord Warner)

2003-2006 Member, International Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Vision 2010 Long Range Planning Committee

2003-2005 Member, Department of Health Advisory Committee for Topic Selection (ACTS) for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)

2003-2010 Member, InterTASC, Professional Forum of Analytic Groups producing Assessment Reports for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (Universities of Aberdeen, Birmingham, Exeter, Liverpool, Sheffield, Southampton, York)

2003-2006 Member, Organising Committee for Sixth European Conference on Health Economics, Budapest, Hungary (July 2006)

2003-2004 Chair, Technology Assessment Task Force for NICE Technology Appraisals Methodology Review

2003 Member, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Health – NHS/Industry Partnerships Working Group on Bioscience (BIG T)

2003 Chair of External Review for Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

2002-2006 Member, Medical Research Council (MRC) Advisory Board

2002-2008 Member, University of Sheffield Academic Development Committee (ADC)

2002-2003 Member, Scientific Committee 2003 IHEA World Congress, San Francisco, USA

1999-2005 Member, NICE Technology Appraisal Committee

1999-2003 Non-Executive Director, then Chair/Trustee: Centre for Innovation in Primary Care, Sheffield

1998–2002 Chair, North Trent Cancer Research Network

1997-1998 Founding Chair, InterDEC, a collaboration of analytic groups producing reports for Development and Evaluation Committees (DECs), subsequently InterTASC

1996-1998 Non-Executive Director, Rotherham Health Authority

1995-2000 Chair, Trent Working Group on Acute Purchasing, undertaking analysis for Trent DEC

1995-1997 Specialist Advisor to the House of Commons Health Select Committee

1994–1998 Founding Co-ordinator, Trent Institute for Health Services Research, a collaboration between the Universities of Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester funded by Trent R&D Directorate

1994–2004 Director, Northern Unit of Trent Institute for Health Services Research

1992-2002 Member, Editorial Board Journal of Medical Economics, Brookwood Medical Publications

Referee/Reviewer roles (present and previous)

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Council for Medical and Health Research, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research
Medical Research Council (MRC)
National Institutes for Health, Washington DC
NHS HTA Programme
Research and Development Office, Directorate of the Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Central Services Agency
Welsh Office

Journals: