BeNeLuxA

BeNeLuxA is the most advanced of several cross-country collaborations in Europe that aim to make access to medicines more sustainable. It comprises Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and Ireland.

Areas of cooperation include: horizon scanning, information sharing and policy exchange, health technology assessments, and pricing and reimbursement. Other similar collaborations in Europe include the Visegrad group (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia), the FINOSE Project (Norway, Sweden and Finland) and the Valletta Group, which includes two of Europe’s biggest markets, Italy and Spain, as well as Portugal, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania, Slovenia and Croatia.

Under the BeNeLuxA initiative, Belgium and the Netherlands together conducted HTA and joint price negotiations for Biogen’s Spinraza (nusinersen), which like Zolgensma is for treating SMA. However, the Zolgensma agreement marks the first time that three countries have come to the table. The Spinraza deal came after Belgium, the Netherlands and Vertex had failed to agree a price over the company’s cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) in 2017.(Also see "Where Europe’s ‘BeNeLuxA’ Joint Pricing Pilot May Have Gone Wrong" - Pink Sheet, 30 June, 2017.)

Three EU Countries Strike Landmark Joint Zolgensma Pricing Deal

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