On 26 April 2023, Active Citizenship Network organized at the European Parliament in Brussels the 17th European Patients' Rights Day - entirely dedicated to the topic of access to treatment for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products. On that occasion, the EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides stated that “ATMPs give hope to patients where therapeutic options are currently lacking or non-existent, and they must be able to reach patients sooner. Our priority is always to put patients' interest first".
A year later, on 4 July 2024, Active Citizenship Network organized - in continuity with its commitment to the topic - a high-profile European closed-door meeting starting from that statement, aiming at understanding how to provide eligible patients with faster but also broader access to care.
The backbone of the discussion was the study conducted by the #VITA consortium, which includes a concrete proposal that aims to make spending on advanced therapies no longer a current expense but an investment one. The paper was drafted in collaboration with the ALTEMS department at the Università Cattolica di Roma and LS Cube law firm.
The meeting – titled “Strengthening the European ecosystem for equitable patient access to Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)” - provided interesting insights from independent experts from Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, starting from a comparison of the state of the art in the different countries.
It was an opportunity to reflect in which direction should we move and how the newly elected European institutions should act to make the right to care applicable in the context of ATMPs.
PROGRAMME
4 July 2024 | 14:00-16:00
On-line meeting
Moderator: Mariam Zaidi, journalist
14:00 - 14:10 Introduction
Mariano Votta, Head of European Affairs, Cittadinanzattiva-Active Citizenship Network – Italy
Rosanna Sovani, Partner, LS Cube Global Law Firm - Italy
14:10 – 14:30 Evaluation of expenditure on advanced therapy medicinal products
Mauro Marè, Professor of Public Economics - University of Tuscia and LUISS University - Italy
14:30 – 15:50 Roundtable discussion
Focus on Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, UK
Christian Chabannon, Head & QP, Centre de Thérapie Cellulaire, Institut Paoli-Calmettes Comprehensive Cancer Centre – France
Marc Dooms, Senior Orphan Drug Pharmacist, University Hospitals Leuven – Belgium
Hsin-Yu Kuo, Project Manager, Research Information and Networks for the European Consortium for Communicating Gene and Cell Therapy Information (EuroGCT), Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh - Scotland
Helena Lee, Associate Director for Emerging Therapies, NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre - UK
José Moraleda, Coordinator, Spanish Network of Advanced Therapies (TERAV) - Spain
Shingirai Mutamba, Lead Pharmacist AT(I)MP and Accountable Pharmacist, Pharmacy Advanced Therapy Unit (PATU), University Hospital Southampton NHSFT - UK
Kateřina Podrazilová, former Head of Drug Agency; independent expert - Czech Republic
Marteen Postma, Professor in Pharmacoeconomics, University of Groningen - the Netherlands
15:50 – 16:00 Next Steps
Bianca Ferraiolo, Head of the Representative Office to the EU, Cittadinanzattiva-Active Citizenship Network - Belgium
To download the speakers' list, click here
To know more about the meeting, click here
Media Partners:
Additional information:
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The value of investing in Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products
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Evaluation of expenditure on advanced therapy medicinal products (EN – IT)
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To know more the commitment of ACN on the topic at the EU level, please visit: A – B – C
The event has been realized with the unconditional support of #VITA – Value and Innovation of Advanced Therapies (Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer, PTC Therapeutics, Roche and Vertex), coordinated by LS CUBE Global Law Firm.
