FINOSE - Nordic collaboration for patients’ access to medicines prolonged

The latest FINOSE report is used as basis for joint negotiations involving all five Nordic Countries

In order to facilitate early patient access to new value-adding medicines across the Nordic countries, the three agencies Fimea, NoMA and TLV have decided to prolong the FINOSE collaboration initiated in 2017. Therefore, the Director Generals of each agency have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding in June 2020.

Director General Agneta Karlsson at Swedish TLV explains:
Since the pilot phase has been a positive experience, we hope both for efficiency gains and for direct real use of joint reports in future negotiations. We can also see that there are learning experiences for our staff when working together.

Director General Audun Hågå at Norwegian NoMA expresses that:
We think that our joint collaboration has given prerequisites for early and equal access to medicines for our Nordic patients.

During FINOSE’s first three years the participating agencies have:

• Built up a joint assessment process with close communication among the participants
• Written three joint assessment reports
• Built up trust between the agencies and companies
• Discussed important methods for assessments to enable a streamlined procedure
• Participated in post launch evidence generation advice together within EUnetHTA

The latest joint assessment report from FINOSE was recently taken up as a basis for negotiations by the procurement functions in the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden), who have invited the Marketing Authorisation Holding company to enter a joint negotiation process. None of the FINOSE participants, however, are taking part in the negotiations.

For further information on the negotiation, please visit Janusinfo.se External link, opens in new window.

The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions representative Mikael Svensson states that:
- The goal is to ensure equal access synchronised in time all over the Nordic countries. We also need to reach an acceptable cost level.

Eija Pelkonen, Director General at Finnish Fimea expresses a vision for the future FINOSE collaboration and its use in assuring equal and timely access to value-adding medicines for the patients:

- The pilot phase of the FINOSE collaboration has already shown its value as an agile production process for joint assessments. The assessment reports themselves, however, are of value only when used for decision making. The fact that the FINOSE assessments can support joint Nordic procurement negotiations opens up a new and inspiring phase in the FINOSE collaboration.

A strengthened Nordic collaboration will increase interest in the Nordic countries as markets and make the region more interesting for life science development. It is also among FINOSE’s ambitions that this will lead to a perception of the countries as more attractive to the industry.