Your biweekly update on health economics, policy, and impact
This Bulletin covers three insights into the EU Joint Clinical Assessment: how it is being implemented across Europe, its potential to speed up access to medicines, and the assessment of novel antimicrobials within the JCA framework.
That’s your Bulletin summary, or read on for the full stories below.
Matthias Hofer, Senior Principal Economist
The EU Joint Clinical Assessment: To boldly go where no policy has gone before?
A new frontier in European health policy opened in 2025, when the EU introduced Joint Clinical Assessments (JCAs) to centralise evaluations of clinical effectiveness. The objectives are ambitious: harmonise assessment, reduce duplication, and get treatments to patients faster across the EU. With the first JCA report imminent, it feels timely to collate our latest work on the topic.
Our latest "Around the World in HTA" blog provides an overview of JCA, key challenges, and how Member States are integrating JCA assessments into national HTA decision-making.
The JCA is a bold policy leap towards greater HTA harmonisation in the EU, but whether it delivers will depend on its implementation. We will continue to track progress and provide research to support JCA implementation for all types of health technologies.
National HTA systems are adapting to the EU JCA
One Europe, one assessment? Unpacking the European Joint Clinical Assessment
With the first EU JCA reports due shortly, attention is shifting from framework design to practical implementation. Several HTA bodies have already updated national processes, including dossier requirements and evidence submission rules. The approaches are uneven across member states, reflecting differences in readiness and interpretation. The coming months will be critical in assessing whether the JCA can drive convergence in clinical assessment across Europe.
Can joint clinical assessment speed up access to medicines?
The EU JCA was introduced as a milestone in European health policy, intended to deliver a single, shared clinical evaluation across member states. One year into implementation, questions remain about how it is functioning in practice. In this episode of A Dose of Economics, Patrick Hopkinson and Matthias Hofer discuss the benefits and limitations of the current approach and what will be needed for JCA to achieve its impact.
Evaluating novel antimicrobials within EU joint clinical assessments
AMR accounts for millions of hospital days and billions in costs across Europe, with a growing global mortality burden. The EU JCA offers a more coordinated approach to clinical assessment, but it does not reflect the broader population-level value of antimicrobials. Approaches such as STEDI could help fill this gap, although it would require methodological and procedural change. Without that shift, there is a risk that key benefits are not fully captured when antimicrobials enter JCA from 2030.
Mid-year health check: policy, pricing & what’s coming
Join us on 17 June for a mid-year webinar reviewing key policy developments so far in 2026 and what’s still to come, from MFN pricing and rare disease access, to the recent publication of the HEMA report and the new NICE threshold era.
Apply to the Graduate Economist role by submitting your CV and cover letter by 5 June 2026. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interviews in June, with successful applicants starting the role in October 2026.
Apply to the OHE MSc Fellowship Programme at City St George’s, University of London by submitting your CV, cover letter, academic transcripts and proof of MSc application by 5 June 2026.
