OBJECTIVES: The European Union has been working towards the streamlining health technology assessments (HTA) and aims to implement a standardized, pan-European framework for all interventions by 2030, starting in 2025 with oncology drugs and advanced therapy medicinal products. All member states will be required to use this Joint clinical assessment (JCA) framework to assess clinical evidence of new interventions. Economic assessment will continue to be conducted at a National level. We aim to assess the uptake and use of historical European joint HTA initiatives.

METHODS: We reviewed European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) joint assessments of medicines between 2016 and 2021 evaluating involvement and use by European HTA agencies. We selected case studies of three medicines with detailed information on use of EUnetHTA assessments, focusing on the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain. Finally, we assessed the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals to estimate time between completion of European assessments and NICE published recommendations.

RESULTS: There were 20 EUnetHTA assessments. On average, six HTA agencies were involved in the development (3 to 11) and 12 agencies used the assessment reports (3 to 19). In the three case studies, EUnetHTA assessments were either cited or used as background information in country specific HTA assessments, except for two instances where EUnetHTA assessments were adapted nationally. NICE appraised half of the medicines, with a mean time from EUnetHTA assessment to NICE assessment of 9 months.

CONCLUSIONS: Engagement in and use of a previous joint HTA initiative was varied among European HTA agencies, reflecting differences in national HTA requirements. The upcoming standardized JCA framework aims to facilitate timely patient access by reducing duplication of assessment efforts. To achieve this, clear process and method guidelines are required, particularly in those markets where an economic assessment is also required.