EuropaBio Patient BioForum: Advancing patient access to innovative treatments

2021 is set to be another landmark year in the area of health. It is hoped to not only relieve the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on EU patients and healthcare systems, but also let the health community advance the great number of other priorities there are. In the EU, 2021 is set to give a start to the implementation of the European Health Union and the related objectives of the new EU Pharmaceutical Strategy. Among these, the EU health community is looking to improve patients’ access to therapies for challenging and rare conditions.

This meeting of EuropaBio’s Patient BioForum will discuss avenues for enhancing the access of EU patients to novel biotechnology-derived treatments in two sessions:

1. Morning session – 10:30-12:00 CET

Pharmaceutical Strategy implementation for continued innovation and delivery in the area of rare and paediatric diseases.

The European Commission is discussing on the calibration of incentives for investing in the development of medicines for rare and paediatric diseases both with Member States and stakeholders. We invite the BioForum members to exchange proposals for informing this important debate on several key points, such as criteria for defining unmet need and incentivising innovation in such areas, etc.

1. Afternoon session – 13:00-14:30 CET

Improving patient access across borders

The EU Directive on cross-border healthcare is an important instrument to ensure patient access to the best available care. The Directive is particularly relevant for advanced therapies and medicines for rare diseases. Well-functioning EU cross-border healthcare legislation can ensure patients have access to specialised treatments and novel therapies when these are not available in their home country.

The exchange between guest speakers and BioForum members is aimed to result in the post-meeting release of policy recommendations for how patient access can be advanced in the EU in the context of its new Pharmaceutical Strategy.

We very much look forward to your active participation on 18 May 2021. 

VIRTUAL EVENT