EURORDIS strongly urges EU Council to preserve HTA legislation that best serves patients

EURORDIS-Rare Diseases Europe, an alliance of over 800 rare disease patient organizations, is today urging member states of the European Union to take off the table a proposal from the Presidency of the EU Council to withdraw Article 7 of the current proposal for European cooperation on health technology assessment (HTA).

EURORDIS urges EU member states and their representatives attending the meeting of the Council Working Party in early December to consider the damage the withdrawal of Article 7 could do to patients’ access to innovative medicines and health technologies.

“Better no EU HTA legislation than bad legislation. Rare disease patients need more Europe, more European collaboration with clarity, not another layer of complexity. We call on the EU Council to retain Article 7 and push forward the current legislation, which will reduce inequality in access to innovative therapies and will also go towards increasing EU competitiveness,” commented EURORDIS chief executive Yann Le Cam.