Alice Chen

Associate Professor,
Sol Price School of Public Policy;
Director of the Value of Life Sciences Innovation Program,
Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics,
University of Southern California

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Education

    • University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Ph.D.
    • University of Chicago Booth School of Business, M.B.A.
    • Harvard University, S.M.
    • Harvard University, A.B. (cum laude)

Alice Chen specializes in health and labor economics. Professor Chen’s expertise encompasses a range of issues involving healthcare and pharmaceutical firms, including pharmaceutical competition and innovation, healthcare labor markets, and provider payment models.

Expert work on pharmaceutical issues, clinical data, and the 340B Drug Pricing Program

As an expert witness, Professor Chen has testified at a jury trial on statistical analyses of clinical trial data and drug regulatory approval. Her deposition testimony experience includes causation issues related to economic incentives and acceleration clauses in patent settlement agreements between brand and generic drug manufacturers. In addition, she has served as a consulting damages expert on life sciences matters, estimating the impact of allegedly false pharmaceutical marketing on prescription drug sales.

A 340B Drug Pricing Program expert, Professor Chen has testified at bench trials on whether the program’s expansion has translated into increased provision of uncompensated healthcare by hospitals, improvements in patient health outcomes, and changes in drug utilization. On behalf of a drug manufacturer, she served as an expert witness to analyze longitudinal changes in the program’s expansion of participating covered hospitals and pharmacies.

In other healthcare matters, Professor Chen has offered written and deposition testimony on health insurance plan design in the context of class certification.

Research and publications on healthcare efficiency, specialty drug pricing, and provider behavior

Professor Chen’s research has focused on healthcare market efficiencies and biopharmaceutical market entry and competition, with a focus on complex specialty drugs such as biologics and biosimilars.

Her recent research analyzes the impact of Medicare policies on provider behavior, healthcare outcomes, and potential impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act on drug competition, pricing, and innovation.

Professor Chen has presented her work before regulators at the Federal Trade Commission and the Congressional Budget Office.

Professor Chen has published articles in leading economics, health policy, and medical journals, including the American Economic Journal: Economic PolicyHealth AffairsJAMA Internal Medicine, and the Journal of Health Economics. Major media outlets, including BloombergCBS NewsForbes, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, have cited her work.

Award-winning teaching in health economics

At USC Price, Professor Chen teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in health economics and health finance. The USC Health Administration Graduate Program has recognized her as Outstanding Faculty of the Year.

Collections

340B Drug Pricing Program

Event

ASHEcon 2024: The Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists

Article

The Inflation Reduction Act Could Have Unintended Consequences

Event

American Conference Institute: 14th Summit on Biosimilars & Innovator Biologics

  • “Medicare Accountable Care Policy & Addressing Perspectives about the ACO REACH Model,” Board of Administration Day for CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System), 17 January 2023
  • “Pharmacy Benefit Managers: Economics and Enforcement Interest,” 49th Annual Conference on International Antitrust Law and Policy and Antitrust Economics Workshops, Fordham University School of Law, 14 September 2022