Early access to medicines with added therapeutic value: Measuring and comparing time to medicines access in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain

The scientific breakthroughs over the past few decades have opened up new therapeutic possibilities, transforming the treatment of critical illnesses like cancer and rare diseases. However, delayed access to these innovations can lead to a loss of valuable life years for patients.

The annual European medicines access times Monitor, launched by the French Statutory Health Insurance (CNAM) with the support of the French National Authority for Health (HAS), analysed time to patient access across five countries between 2017 and 2023 (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) for a sample of 50 molecules that demonstrate therapeutic improvement.

The results underscore the crucial role of Early Access Schemes-EAS in accelerating patient access to medicines. These schemes are particularly prevalent in countries where national reimbursement is contingent on Health Technology Assessment-HTA assessments and price negotiations—notably France, Italy, and Spain.

These findings indicate that early access schemes, rather than being restricted to compassionate use for patients with no alternative treatment options, can also serve as a strategy to expedite access to essential therapies, particularly cancer drugs, prior to their formal reimbursement.