Belgium To Lead Consortium To Assess Health Technologies Under Health Technology Assessment Regulation
- 30/01/2025
- News
On 21 January 2025 HaDEA, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, signed a new Framework Contract to support and fund both joint clinical assessments and joint scientific consultations under the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Regulation. The funding earmarked by HaDEA amounts to EUR 35 million.
HaDEA’s partner is a consortium of HTA bodies that represent 19 or 21 Member States (there are diverging official sources). The consortium will be led by the Belgian healthcare payor RIZIV/INAMI (see, attached press release of 24 January 2025). The HTA Regulation became operational on 12 January 2025 and makes it possible for Member States to assess jointly the therapeutic value of several health technologies, including new medicines and specific medical devices. The joint assessment will provide the 27 Member States with a common and scientifically sound foundation for making their own pricing and reimbursement decisions.
Belgium’s prominent role in the HTA process is not a coincidence. Belgium is a founding member of the Beneluxa initiative, a five-country collaborative project for research, the exchange of information, and joint negotiations regarding the reimbursement of medicines. Similarly, the country is one of the driving forces behind the Critical Medicines Act, a set of rules designed to tackle medicine shortages and a cornerstone of the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass, whose first draft is scheduled to be presented on 11 March 2025.
