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Patient Organisations Welcome Publication of First Joint Clinical Assessment Under EU HTA Regulation

The joint statement, signed by 15 European patient organisations including the European Patients’ Forum (EPF), reflects on the publication of the JCA for tovorafenib and highlights both the progress made and the opportunities to further strengthen patient involvement in future assessments.

Patient organisations recognise the efforts made to involve patients and carers in the assessment process, including opportunities to contribute to the assessment scope and review draft reports. Such engagement is a positive step towards ensuring that the experiences, priorities and needs of patients and families are reflected in European health technology assessments.

At the same time, the statement outlines several recommendations to enhance meaningful patient involvement throughout the JCA process. These include:

 

  • Involving patients and carers from the earliest stages of assessment planning and scoping;
  • Strengthening the role of patient organisations in representing broader community perspectives;
  • Increasing transparency on how patient input influences assessments and final conclusions;
  • Improving the generation and use of evidence on outcomes that matter most to patients, such as quality of life and treatment burden; and
  • Ensuring that JCA findings are communicated in clear, accessible language and made available in all official EU languages.

The statement also calls for continued methodological discussions on how to address evidence gaps in disease areas where robust comparative evidence may be difficult to generate, while maintaining scientific rigour.

As implementation of the EU HTA Regulation continues, patient organisations reaffirm their commitment to working with all stakeholders to ensure that patient involvement becomes meaningful, transparent and impactful throughout the assessment process. They also call on national HTA bodies to build efficiently on Joint Clinical Assessments when making reimbursement and appraisal decisions at national level.

Read the full joint statement.