European co-host session: Affordable access to cancer treatments – The European Fair Pricing Initiative (EFPN)

Session co-organised by The Dutch Cancer Society (The Netherlands), and The European Fair Pricing Initiative (EFPN) Chaired by: Jon Kirknes, Norwegian Cancer Society (Norway)

Presentations:

1. The European Fair Pricing Initiative: the short story Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross, The Norwegian Cancer Society (Norway)

2. Financial toxicity and socio-economic consequences of cancer: results from 14 European counties Julie Vancoppenolle, Netherlands Cancer Institute, EFPN

3. Transparency in price negotiations: enabling evidence-based policies Nora Franzen, Netherlands Cancer Institute, EFPN

4. How is the Access to Medicines Task Force of ECL advocating for fair prices and swift access? Ward Rommel, ECL Taskforce group

5. Q&A 6. Closing words Advocacy: Amplifying research results for better patient outcomes Guy Muller / Patrick Ooms, KWF, EFPN

Description:

There have been significant advances in medical treatment of cancer in the past decades, however, access to new therapies remains a challenge. Timely access to products with proven benefit should be assured for patients who need them. In this session, European Fair Pricing Network (EFPN) presents two research projects that shed light on topics of accessibility, accountability, and affordability of cancer care.

Firstly, the SEC study, aims at exploring the Socio-Economic Consequences of a cancer diagnosis from a patient perspective. In this large collaborative effort of more than 14 countries with 2494 included patients, country differences in financial hardships and gaps in social protection will be shown.

Secondly, price negotiations have a strong effect on the affordability and accessibility of medicines. However, national procedures are complex and subject to confidentiality clauses, which hinder evidence-based decision making. A research project is outlined with an open invitation to join the collaborative consortium.