ECPC welcomed the comments made by Prof Guido Rasi on the European newspaper POLITICO.
In particular, Prof Rasi called for further harmonisation of the HTA evaluations across Europe, and for an increased level of collaboration among Member States in relation to new approaches to evaluating medicines’ innovation, like the collection of real-world data.
For this reason, ECPC sent a letter to Commissioner Andriukaitis and Prof Rasi to support their position on the matter and encourage them to take lead in the healthcare community to achieve the level of cooperation and harmonisation European cancer patients need to have fast and sustainable access to innovative medicines.
Click here to read our letter to Commissioner Andriukaitis
The position of ECPC matured following the ongoing process of revision of the Regulation 726/2004 on the authorisation of new medicines for human use. ECPC supported the amendments presented by MEP Gardini, MEP Cirio and others, calling for the creation of a European body responsible to determine a relative effectiveness assessment (REA) valid for all EU countries. This measure is of crucial importance to cut down the delay in pricing and reimbursement of new drugs. Many new oncology drugs, in fact, reach the patients too late, increasing the already unbearable inequalities in cancer care existing in Europe.
The amendments to the Regulation 726/2004 have been approved by the European Parliament ENVI Committee with an overwhelming majority. The Parliament’s support to the amendments has been confirmed also during the European Parliament’s Plenary Session of March 2016. The document will be debated by the Council of the European Union. According to the ECPC sources, the Slovak Presidency of the Council (June-December 2016) will include the approval of the amended Regulation among its priorities in health.
Click here to read more about the amendments to the 724/2006