At PORTAL, we are committed to generating rigorous, actionable research evaluating the development, regulation, use, and cost of medical products to meaningfully improve people’s health.
Our History
PORTAL was established in 2012 by Drs. Aaron Kesselheim and Jerry Avorn within the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics (Department of Medicine) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. Since then, PORTAL has brought together scholars across medicine, law, epidemiology, health policy, economics, ethics, and more to evaluate how laws and regulations influence the development, use, and affordability of therapeutics, including prescription drugs and medical devices.
In the years since its inception, more than 100 faculty, fellows, staff, and trainees have contributed to PORTAL’s work, generating research studies and other output that have shaped some of the most pressing policy discussions.
Our Approach
Our approach to research is multidisciplinary and collaborative, combining our team’s expertise in various fields of study to produce timely, policy-relevant research related to prescription drugs. This includes leveraging a variety of quantitative, qualitative, and legal analysis methods to answer research questions throughout the life cycle of medical products, including topics in such fields as:
- FDA regulation
- Comparative and cost-effectiveness
- Intellectual property and patents
- Pricing and value
- Health insurance design
- Antitrust and competition
PORTAL is also committed to ensuring that the evidence we generate reaches broad audiences and informs policy discussions. To help achieve this goal, we aim to publish our work in prominent medical, legal, and health policy journals while also disseminating research findings directly to policymakers, media, and the general public. We also regularly attend and host meetings, seminars, and conferences to discuss our work and its implications for current events.
Members of the PORTAL team provide expert input and formal testimony on issues in the prescription drug market, respond to policymaker requests for comment on policy proposals, and provide support to government agencies and legislatures, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders. To assure independence in our research, no members of PORTAL or the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics have personal financial relationships with pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers.
