Phd-student in pharmaceutical economics and policy ref. BAP-2026-139

Employer

Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Description

The research will be supervised by prof Jeroen Luyten and prof Steven Simoens. It will be conducted within LUHTAR, the newly established interfaculty and interdisciplinary research unit on Health Technology Assessment at KU Leuven. Within LUHTAR, various academic disciplines are active, with expertise ranging from health economics, decision-making, ethics, statistics, and epidemiology to medicine and the legal aspects of health technology. The researcher will also be part of the broader Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy and the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, within which a wide range of academic activities, teaching, and training are offered.

https://gbiomed.kuleuven.be/english/research/50000687/luhtar
https://www.kuleuven.be/samenwerking/ligb/Home
https://gbiomed.kuleuven.be/english/research/50000687

Project

Every day, pharmaceutical wholesalers deliver millions of medicine packs across Europe, ensuring that patients receive the medicines they need. Despite being the backbone of Europe’s medicines supply, this sector has received remarkably little research attention. At the same time, pharmaceutical markets are changing rapidly, with increasing regulatory demands, recurring medicine shortages, and new market entrants that are not subject to the same public service obligations (PSOs). These developments raise urgent questions about the long-term sustainability of Europe’s medicines distribution systems.

This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to study a critical yet underexplored part of healthcare systems. The aim is to investigate how European healthcare systems can redesign PSOs and pharmaceutical distribution models to guarantee continuous, affordable, and equitable access to medicines in the most cost-effective way. Potential topics to be investigated in the context of the PhD include the economic sustainability of PSOs, the costs of regulatory compliance and stockpiling requirements, and the impact of medicine shortages. The project promises strong policy relevance, close engagement with real-world stakeholders, and clear opportunities for high-impact publications, and is an excellent fit for students interested in health economics, European health systems and pharmaceutical policy. A provisional starting date for the project is 01/06/26 but this is flexible. 

Profile

• Master degree obtained at least with 'distinction'
• preferably in a relevant discipline such as (applied) economics, business or commercial engineering, pharmaceutical sciences or biomedical sciences.
• strong in analytical thinking
• sufficient foundation in statistics and quantitative research skills
• strong written and oral communication skills
• an interest in pharmaceutical policy

Offer
An initial one-year contract as a full-time scientific staff member within LUHTAR. If necessary, part-time positions are also possible. The candidate will receive intensive supervision from specialists in health economics and clinical experts, and will be able to attend training sessions and conferences related to the subject of the research. He/she will receive an attractive salary, be provided with their own (shared) office/laptop/etc. within the Department of Public Health at KU Leuven and will be part of a dynamic team of young researchers specializing in health economics, HTA, and medical decision-making. The initial contract is meant to serve as the basis for a four-year doctoral study, subject to a positive evaluation. As an employee, the staff member is entitled to numerous benefits associated with employment at KU Leuven (e.g., a wide range of free courses and training, bicycle and bicycle allowance, train subscription, etc.).

Stats

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.

More jobs

• 
  Veterinary Head of Laboratory Animal Facility (m/f/d) Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics
• 
  PhD in plant systems biology for climate change resilience and disease resistance University of Leuven
• 
  Postdoc in plant systems biology for climate change resilience and disease resistance University of Leuven
• 
  PhD Positions within the Numerical Analysis and Applied Mathematics section University of Leuven

See also

phd student jobs in Belgium, phd student jobs in Leuven, other phd student jobs, other jobs in Belgium, other jobs in Leuven, other phd student jobs in Belgium, other phd student jobs in Leuven, pharmacology phd student jobs, pharmacology jobs in Belgium, pharmacology jobs in Leuven, pharmacology phd student jobs in Belgium, pharmacology phd student jobs in Leuven, public health phd student jobs, public health jobs in Belgium, public health jobs in Leuven, public health phd student jobs in Belgium, public health phd student jobs in Leuven, all jobs