A European Innovation Fund for Transformative Health Technologies; Advancing patient access and competitiveness
The European Union (EU) has a strong biomedical research base, extensive clinical expertise and channels significant amounts of public investment into innovation in the health sector. However, these strengths do not consistently translate into timely patient access or into an attractive market in which innovators can launch and scale up transformative technologies. Fragmented national processes for the assessment of health technologies, pricing, reimbursement and procurement weaken the connection between research, adoption and patient access. Ultimately, this has a negative impact on Europe’s competitiveness in the life sciences sector.
This problem is particularly acute for advanced therapies, personalised cancer treatments, advanced diagnostics and digital or AI-enabled technologies. These types of innovation often entail high upfront costs, specialised infrastructure and uncertainty at launch. However, the real-world evidence needed to address that uncertainty can frequently be generated only after patients receive access to treatments. Health system readiness, including diagnostic capacity, digital infrastructure and specialised skills, is therefore as important as financing.
National initiatives in the United Kingdom, France and Italy demonstrate the value of managed access, evidence generation, strategic investment and public-private de-risking. However, national initiatives cannot overcome EU Single Market fragmentation alone. The next Multiannual Financial Framework provides an opportunity to establish a European Innovation Fund for Transformative Health Technologies that connects these functions without replacing Member States’ responsibilities for pricing and reimbursement.
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Elizabeth Kuiper is an Associate Director and Head of the Health and Societal Resilience Programme at the European Policy Centre.
Michele Migliori is a Policy Analyst in the Health and Societal Resilience Programme at the European Policy Centre.
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