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The Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) is a partnership established in England to expedite the development and adoption of innovative health technologies within the National Health Service (NHS).

The Access Consortium is a collaboration of five national regulatory agencies (MHRA, TGA, Health Canada, HSA, and Swissmedic) that work together to align regulatory processes and reduce duplication in drug evaluations. Its purpose is to enhance international cooperation, ensuring timely access to high-quality, safe, and effective therapeutic products across member countries.

The Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss, G-BA) is a key player in the access landscape, determining which healthcare services, including medicines, are covered, and assesses the comparative benefit provided by new drugs. Medicines showing a comparative benefit are launched at prices set by the manufacturer, who then negotiates the definitive price with the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, with the price applicable from six months after launch. Those without a comparative benefit are subject to national reference pricing.

Recommendations for a flexible approach to archetypes for making sense of the diversity of national access approaches.

The African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) is a continent-wide programme led by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to consolidate demand and negotiate collective purchasing of quality-assured health products for African Union Member States.

The African Small Island Developing States (SIDS) pooled procurement initiative is a joint purchasing platform created by the African Small Island Developing States to buy selected medicines and other health products collectively in order to improve affordability, quality assurance and supply security.

The All Wales Medicines Strategy Group conducts health technology assessments to evaluate new and existing medicines for use in NHS Wales. The main aim of this process is to ensure that patients in Wales have timely access to safe, effective, and cost-efficient medicines. This briefing describes the AWMSG appraisal process, which typically follows a structured procedure that involves submission, evaluation, and final recommendations.

The French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety, Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des Produits de Santé (ANSM), offers a scientific advice service to assist pharmaceutical companies in the development of health products. This service provides guidance on scientific, technical, regulatory, and legal aspects, aiming to facilitate the development and market access of innovative health products.

The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé, ANSM) plays a role in improving patient access to new therapies in France. By implementing regulatory procedures and offering scientific support, the agency aims to ensure timely access to treatments while maintaining safety and efficacy standards.

The Baltic states operate a cross-border mechanism to procure routine immunisation vaccines jointly, most often with Estonia’s Health Insurance Fund (Tervisekassa) acting as lead buyer and Latvia participating, and with Lithuania involved in earlier cycles.

The Beneluxa Initiative on Pharmaceutical Policy is a multi-country horizon scanning, HTA and pricing and reimbursement collaboration between Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and Ireland.

The European Bolar exemption is a legal provision that allows pharmaceutical companies to conduct research and testing on patented drugs without being considered as infringing the patent. This exemption is particularly relevant for the development of generic and biosimilar medicines.

The Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) is a funding mechanism established in England to provide patients with access to cancer treatments that are not routinely available through the National Health Service (NHS).

France has implemented early access programmes to provide patients with innovative medicines before full marketing authorisation or reimbursement. These programmes include the Early Access Authorisation (AAP), Compassionate Access Authorisation (AAC), and Compassionate Prescription Framework (CPC). They are designed to address serious, rare, or disabling diseases lacking appropriate treatment options, ensuring timely access to potentially life-saving therapies.