BRUSSELS, April 6 (APM) - The move towards European cooperation on health technology assessment (HTA) will take another step forward when the European Commission releases its report next month on its recently-completed consultation on future arrangements, according to an initial analysis.
Early results from the study show that EU cooperation on HTA received a "useful/to some extent useful" rating from 96% of responses from public administrations.
The initial analysis, which was released to participants at a Commission meeting last week, showed that responses largely converged in reporting problems that needed solving from the current differences in approach among Europe's 50-plus HTA agencies.
The responders cited predominantly diverging outcomes of HTA reports, duplication of work, and decrease in business predictability.
From among the nearly 200 inputs from government departments, hospitals, payers, patients and industry, EU cooperation beyond 2020 was supported by 87%.
Among public administrations there was 100% support for EU-level cooperation on pharmaceuticals, and 89% on medical technologies.
But as the Commission acknowledged when it launched its consultation, key to the success of any future collaboration will be how far the outcome of joint work will be put to use.
On this, the consultation revealed low levels of uptake of the joint work conducted so far under current arrangements.
Joint tools, guidelines, and early dialogues had been taken advantage of by less than 10% of responders.
For joint clinical assessments of relative efficacy, the take-up rate was only 3%, and full HTAs (where non-clinical and economic factors were also considered) were used by only 1% of responders.
The greatest support for solving this issue, according to the consultation results, was for HTA authorities to be free to choose if they wanted to engage in joint work on a product, but for them to be obliged to use the outcome at national level if they opt to take part.
Neither voluntary participation and voluntary take-up nor mandatory participation and mandatory take-up emerged so favourably.
There is a still-unsolved resource issue in any future arrangements. EU money for joint work is guaranteed only until 2020, and if this is to continue funding has to be found for it.
The most favoured response from the consultation was for money to come from a mix of the EU budget, contributions from member states, and industry fees.
This mix was supported by 66% of public administrations responding to the consultations
HTA received high levels of public support in the consultation, too. It was considered "useful" by 98% of responding citizens, with 83% considering it " important to assess whether a new health technology works better, equally well or worse than health technologies already available."
Although the Commission has said it will not be bound by the results of its consultation, it will be difficult for it to ignore this broad backing for HTA when it delivers its game-plan for the future, scheduled to appear before the end of the year.
To counter criticism from stakeholders that they are being excluded from the discussion of future arrangements, the Commission has created a pool of stakeholder observers who will be allowed access to the strategic planning of the HTA authorities.
Patients and consumers will be represented by the European consumer organisation, BEUC, and by the rare disease group EURORDIS.
Healthcare providers will be represented by the European Union of General Practitioners and the European pharmacists group, PGEU.
And payers will be represented by the European Social Insurance Platform and by the mutual insurance grouping AIM.
Industry will be represented by EFPIA and MedTech, respectively the research-based drug manufacturers and the medical devices and diagnostics sector.
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