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:

• British Medical Journal
• European Journal of Health Technology Assessment
• European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
• Health Services Research and Policy
• Journal of Cardiovascular Risk
• Journal of Clinical Excellence
• Journal of Health Economics
• Journal of Public Health Medicine
• Journal of Medical Economics
• Pharmacoeconomics
• Value in Health
• Medical Decision Making