LEADERSHIP / PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Aysen Senturk
Executive Director | Axel Health Solutions LLC
Aysen Senturk is Executive Director of Axel Health Solutions LLC, a California-based health economics and outcomes research consultancy. Her professional background spans public-sector drug reimbursement, pharmaceutical industry health economics, and independent research and consulting. Her work encompasses healthcare value assessment, economic modeling, outcomes and cost analysis, pricing and reimbursement, and evidence-based value communication.
Her career includes service as Health Economics Specialist at the Ministry of Finance and Health Economics Manager at Bayer Pharmaceuticals; Health Economics and Market Access Consultant for the pharmaceutical and medical device industry; Health Economics and Policy & Corporate Affairs Advisor at Polar Health Economics and Policy Consulting; and Founder, General Manager at Axel Health Solutions in Ankara. Her research and conference presentations address cost-effectiveness, budget impact, disease burden, and pharmaceutical and medical device markets.
Professional Experience
March 2026–Present | Executive Director
Axel Health Solutions LLC, California, United States.
September 2017–July 2025 | Founder, General Manager
Axel Health Solutions, Ankara, Türkiye.
December 2013–August 2017 | Health Economics and Policy & Corporate Affairs Advisor
Polar Health Economics and Policy Consulting.
June 2012–December 2013 | Health Economics and Market Access Consultant
Pharmaceutical and medical device industry.
September 2009–June 2012 | Health Economics Manager
Bayer Pharmaceuticals.
July 2004–September 2009 | Health Economics Specialist
Ministry of Finance, Türkiye. Founding member of the Drug Reimbursement Commission.
Education
2008–2009 | Master’s Degree in Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics
Hacettepe University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara, Türkiye.
2005–2009 | Master’s Degree in Hospital Management
Gazi University, Department of Business Administration, Institute of Social Sciences, Ankara, Türkiye.
1998–2003 | Bachelor’s Degree in Health Administration
Hacettepe University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Ankara, Türkiye.
1991–1998 | Secondary Education
Samsun Bafra Anatolian High School, Türkiye.
Selected Research and Publications
Book and editorial contribution
The Process of Drug Market Access: Pricing and Reimbursement Policies — Assistant Editor; launch at the 3rd IVEK International Congress, April 2017.
Research projects
The Effect of Pharmaceutical Expenditures in the Social Security System on Drug Reimbursement Policies — Master’s thesis, 2009. Elderly Health Diagnosis Treatment Guide 2010 — Ministry of Health, 2007. The U.S. Health Care System — research project, 2002.
Selected articles
Health Care Costs Are Rising: How Should We Understand Them? — Clinical Communication Magazine, December 2017–January 2018. Cost of Treatment of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria in Türkiye — Journal of Health, pp. 1098–1103, August 2016. A New Alternative to Biopharmaceuticals: Biosimilars — Farmaskop, June 2009. Increasing Health Expenditures and the Growing Importance of Health Economics — Journal of Tax Report, August 2007.
Workshops
The Economic Burden of Hepatitis C Disease and Pharmaceutical Market Analysis (2020); Smart Drugs in the Oncology Market and Market Analysis (2020); Costs of Multiple Sclerosis in Türkiye and Pharmaceutical Market Analysis (2019); Interaction with Medical Functions in Market Access Processes (2019); Health Economics (May–August 2015).
2024 | ISPOR European Congress
Cost-Effectiveness of the Trailblazer™ Support Catheter in Endovascular Interventional Procedures for Peripheral Vascular Diseases in Türkiye — poster, 27th Annual European Congress, Barcelona, Spain, 17–20 November 2024.
2018 | ISPOR European Congress
Posters on reimbursed drugs under an alternative payment model, multiple sclerosis burden of illness, non-small-cell lung cancer targeted-therapy market analysis, and cost-effectiveness of the Dermabond™ Prineo™ Skin Closure System in hip and knee arthroplasty in Türkiye — 21st Annual European Congress, Barcelona, Spain, 10–14 November 2018.
2017 | HTAi Annual Meeting
Biotechnology and Biosimilar Pharmaceuticals Market in Türkiye — vignette presentation, Rome, Italy, 17–21 June 2017.
2017 | ISPOR European Congress
Posters on alternative reimbursement models, local pharmaceutical production policies, and budget impact of alteplase in acute ischemic stroke; cost-effectiveness studies of the Contour Cutter Stapler, DuraGraft vein-graft treatment, bariatric surgery, and the PentaRay High-Density Mapping Catheter in Türkiye — 20th Annual European Congress, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 4–8 November 2017.
2016 | ISPOR European Congress
Posters on orphan drug market analysis; direct and indirect costs of HIV/AIDS, stroke, COPD, and epilepsy; adherence to GOLD strategy criteria and its cost implications; and cost-minimization of certolizumab pegol in Crohn’s disease in Türkiye — 19th Annual European Congress, Vienna, Austria, 29 October–2 November 2016.
2016 | ISPOR International Congress
Hospital cost savings associated with sugammadex versus neostigmine, and treatment algorithms and direct costs for postmenopausal patients with HR+/HER2− advanced or metastatic breast cancer in Türkiye — posters, 21st Annual International Congress, Washington, DC, United States, 21–25 May 2016.
2015 | ISPOR European Congress
Posters on five-grass-pollen SLIT tablets versus SCIT and symptomatic treatment; pricing, reimbursement, and budget impact in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis; and costs of venous thromboembolism, stroke, and familial Mediterranean fever in Türkiye — 18th Annual European Congress, Milan, Italy, 7–11 November 2015.
2014 | ISPOR European Congress
Posters on cost-effectiveness of an annular closure device in lumbar discectomy and Xolair, development of HTA, risk-sharing agreements, and chronic idiopathic urticaria cost analysis in Türkiye — 17th Annual European Congress, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 8–12 November 2014.
Professional Activities and Training
Professional associations
Health Economics and Policy Association — Alternate Member of the Board of Directors, listed from 2013 in the supplied CV. Association of Health Administrators — founding president of the university platform, 2003–2004.
Selected courses and continuing education
Pharmacoeconomics of Oncology Drugs Course (Antalya, 2010); Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics, Hacettepe University (Ankara, 2008); Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Course, Ghent University (Ankara, 2008); Health Human Resources Policy Formulation Workshop (Ankara, 2007); World Health Organization Pharmacoeconomics Course: Evidence, Money and Drug Selection (Istanbul, 2006); Case Mix Summer School (Trieste, Italy, 2005); 3rd International Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics Symposium (Izmir, 2004).