sean-d-sullivan

Sean D. Sullivan

Professor of Pharmacy

CHOICE Faculty, Department of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Faculty, School Faculty

Email: sdsull@uw.edu

Office Location: University of Washington 1959 NE Pacific Ave, H-364, Box 357631 Seattle, WA 98195-7630

Expertise:
Cancer Treatments, Claims Data, Comparative Effectiveness Research, Drug Policy, Economic Evaluation, Health Economics, Health Outcomes, Health Policy, Health Services Research

Positions

Professor of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Professor of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of Washington

Education

  • BSc.Pharm 1983 Oregon State University, College of Pharmacy
  • M.Sc. 1986 University of Texas, College of Pharmacy (Administrative and Economic Sciences)
  • Ph.D. 1992 University of California, Berkeley (Health Economics and Policy)

Research Interests

  • Pharmaceutical policy
  • Economic evaluation of pharmaceuticals
  • Global health technology assessment
  • Medical decision making

Courses Taught

  • HECON 530 – Practice of Healthcare Technology Assessment in a Global Environment
  • HEOR 545 – Topics in Pharmaceutical Policy
  • PHRMCY 515 – Population Health and Pharmacy Management

Biography

Sean D. Sullivan, BScPharm, MSc, PhD, is a Professor, School of Pharmacy and Visiting Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science. He holds a joint appointment as Professor of Health Services, School of Public Health. Dr. Sullivan was Dean of the School of Pharmacy from 2014 to 2022.

He completed training in pharmacy at Oregon State University in 1983, obtained a master’s degree at the University of Texas in 1986 and a PhD in health economics and policy at the University of California, Berkeley in 1992.

Dr. Sullivan has authored more than 450 articles, book chapters and reports. In many of these, he has assessed the evidence and applications of medical technology in relation to coverage and reimbursement decisions. His research interests include health technology assessment, medical decision-making, and economic evaluation of medical technology, including pharmaceuticals. He is past president of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) and past chair of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Executive Committee of the Format for Formulary Submissions – the United States evidence-based guidelines for formulary decision making.

Dr. Sullivan was a member of the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee, Chair of the Regence Blue Shield and Premera Blue Cross P/T Committee, and Chair of the Premera Blue Cross Value Assessment Committee. He was awarded the 2014 Stephen G. Avey Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), and the 2015 APhA Academy of Pharmaceutical Research Sciences (APRS) Research Achievement Award. In 2020, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and in 2022 was elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Selected Publications

  • Cousin EM, Sullivan SD, Gabriel N, Hansen RN, Hernandez I. Drugs Anticipated to Be Selected for Medicare Price Negotiation in 2025 for Implementation in 2027. J Manag Care Spec 2024 Nov;30(11):1203-1210. doi: 10.18553/jmcp.2024.24167.
  • Sullivan SD, Wouters OJ, Cousin EM, Kirihennedige A, Hernandez I. Integrating Price Benchmarks and Comparative Clinical Effectiveness to Inform Medicare Drug Price Negotiation. Value in Health 2024 Oct;27(10):1348-1357. doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2024.08.001.
  • Hernandez I, Wouters OJ, Cousin EM, Kirihennedige A, Sullivan SD. Interpreting the First Round of Maximum Fair Prices Negotiated by Medicare for Drugs. Health Affairs Forefront 2024 September 3, 2024 10.1377/forefront.20240830.863408
  • Wouters OJ, Sullivan SD, Cousin EM, Gabriel N, Papanicolas I, Hernandez I. Drug Prices Negotiated by Medicare vs US Net Prices and Prices in Other Countries. JAMA 2025 Jan 7;333(1):85-87. doi: 10.1001/jama.2024.22582.
  • Sullivan SD, Chaturvedi S, Gautam P, Arnaud A. Cost effectiveness of caplacizumab in Immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in the US. J Manag Care Spec 2024 Dec 23:1-12. doi: 10.18553/jmcp.2025.24271.
  • Hernandez I, Gabriel N, Pathak Y, Hansen RN, Sullivan SD. Overpayment for Generic Drugs under Medicare Part D: Consequences on Patient Out-of-Pocket Costs. JAMA Health Forum 2025; 6(2):e250012. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.0012
  • Hernandez I, Gabriel N, Japinga M, Pathak Y, Hansen RN, Sullivan SD, Fendrick AM. Projected Out of Pocket Savings of the Medicare Part D Two Dollar Drug List. JAMA 2025 March 24 On-line doi:10.1001/jama.2025.2028
  • Jofre-Bonet M, McGuire A, Dayer V, Roth JA, Sullivan SD. The Price Effects of Biosimilars in the US. Value in Health 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jval.2025.02.008
  • Sullivan SD, Grueger J, Sullivan AP, Ramsey SD. The Consequences of Pharmaceutical Tariffs in the US. JMCP In press, May, 2025
  • Sun, L, Veenstra DL, Brufsky A, Pluard T, Sandin R, Stergiopoulos S, Liu J, Williams T, Sullivan SD. First Line CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Combination with Aromatase Inhibitors for HR+/HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer: Real World Outcomes and Costs in a Medicare Population. J Manag Care Spec Pharm in press, 2025