IMPROVING ACCESS TO
INNOVATIVE HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES
ASCERTAIN (Affordability and Sustainability improvements through new pricing, Cost- Effectiveness and ReimbursemenT models to Appraise INnovative health technologies) addresses the need of patients, physicians, payers, regulators, and manufacturers to improve the affordability and accessibility to innovative health technologies (including pharmaceuticals) in Europe.
FAQ
What is ASCERTAIN?
ASCERTAIN is a project aimed at helping people get better access to new health technologies such as medicines, medical devices, and tests. The project is creating a tool that can be used by decision-makers to understand the cost and value of these new health technologies.
What is the ASCERTAIN policy support tool?
The tool will be accessible to everyone on the internet and will have information about the cost and value of these new health technologies. It will also consider the impact on the environment. The project will work with patients, industry, policy makers, and payers to make sure the tool is good quality and useful.
Why is the affordability of innovative health technologies a challenge?
It’s a challenge for many countries in the European Union to afford new health technologies because they are often expensive and not everyone has equal access to them. This tool will help decision-makers understand how much a technology should cost, the added value it provides for patients, and its potential impact on the health care budget.
What are the goals of ASCERTAIN?
The goal of ASCERTAIN is to make it easier for people to understand the cost and value of new health technologies. The tool will be open to everyone and will be able to be adapted to different countries’ needs. It will have information about the cost and value of these technologies and will encourage “greener” production.
Events
EHA2025 Congress
Join partners for the 30th EHA Congress, taking place in Milan from June 12–15, 2025!
EHA2025: Stay tuned to immerse yourself once again in the latest news in hematology and its subspecialties:
- Cutting-edge evidence-based approaches to diagnosis and treatment,
- Highly anticipated clinical and translational research data,
- Newest developments in innovative techniques, diagnostic tools, and risk-assessment strategies.
ISPOR Europe 2025
Join global healthcare leaders as they convene at ISPOR Europe 2025, the leading global conference in Europe for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR), 9-12 November, for discussion and dissemination of the latest trends in healthcare. This must-attend event provides you with dedicated opportunities to network with your peers, HEOR experts, and thought leaders and to discuss with a global audience how we establish, incentivize, and share value sustainable for health systems, patients, and technology developers.
Join partners in Glasgow!
VIDEO
News
On 2 April 2025, Myeloma Patients Europe (MPE) hosted a webinar titled “How do different countries make decisions on reimbursing new medicines?”.
Welcome to the fourth edition of the ASCERTAIN newsletter! In this issue, we are excited to highlight our efforts to make complex healthcare policies and pricing mechanisms more accessible.
Making complex healthcare challenges accessible — explore insights on pricing, reimbursement, market access, and more in this video series.
We’re excited to launch “3 Things About the Value of New Cancer Drugs”, the sixth video in our ‘3 Things About’ series designed to simplify complex healthcare topics. In this episode, Carin Uyl-de Groot explores how the value of new cancer drugs is seen through different lenses — from pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and patients. Each group evaluates value in their own way, which influences drug pricing, treatment decisions, and ultimately patient access.
We’re excited to launch “3 Things About Cost-Effectiveness”, the fifth video in our ‘3 Things About’ series designed to simplify complex healthcare topics. In this video, Frederick Thielen explores cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA)—a key tool in healthcare decision-making. With limited resources, CEA helps determine which treatments provide the most health benefits for their cost. However, cost-effectiveness is often misunderstood or oversimplified.
We’re excited to launch “3 Things About Reimbursement”, the fourth video in our ‘3 Things About’ series designed to simplify complex healthcare topics. In this video, Frederick Thielen explores the complexities of drug reimbursement—a key factor in ensuring patient access to new medicines. While a drug may be approved for use across the EU, reimbursement decisions vary by country, affecting its availability.
We’re excited to launch “3 Things About Pricing Of New Drugs”, the third video in our ‘3 Things About’ series designed to simplify complex healthcare topics. In this video, Carin Uyl-de Groot explores the factors that influence drug pricing — a crucial topic in healthcare affordability. From development costs to monopolies, understanding these factors is key to ensuring fair pricing and access to medicines.
We’re excited to launch “3 Things About Tiered Pricing”, the second video in our ‘3 Things About’ series designed to simplify complex healthcare topics. In this video, Carin Uyl-de Groot breaks down the concept of tiered pricing—a strategy used to set different drug prices across countries and patient groups. Tiered pricing aims to balance economic sustainability, ethical responsibility, and global health improvement, making essential medicines more accessible while maintaining innovation.
We’re excited to launch “3 Things About Market Access”, the first video in our ‘3 Things About’ series designed to simplify complex healthcare topics.In this video, Frederick Thielen dives into the crucial concept of market access—a vital process for making new drugs and treatments available to patients.
We’re exploring how Cost-Effectiveness Thresholds are applied, evaluated, and improved in healthcare decision-making. Your input will help develop innovative tools to guide healthcare decisions and improve access to essential treatments across E
watch our videos to learn more about the project
Discover the making of the six-part series ‘3 Things About’. In six videos we aim to make complex issues more accessible, fostering a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities in topics around ASCERTAIN.
“3 Things About the Value of New Cancer Drugs” – The sixth video in our series! This video explores how different stakeholders define the value of new cancer drugs.
“3 Things About Cost-Effectiveness” – The fifth video in our series! This video explores cost-effectiveness analysis—a key method for assessing if treatments provide good value.
3 Things About Reimbursement” is the fourth video in our series. In this video, we explore the complexities of drug reimbursement—a key factor in ensuring patient access to new medicines.
“3 Things About Pricing Of New Drugs” – The third video in our series! In this video, we explore the factors that influence drug pricing — a crucial topic in healthcare affordability.
“3 Things About Tiered Pricing” – The second video in our series! In this video, we break down the concept of tiered pricing—a strategy used to set different drug prices across countries and patient groups.
“3 Things About Market Access” – The first video in our series! In this video, we dive into the crucial concept of market access—a vital process for making new drugs and treatments available to patients.
Discover how ASCERTAIN is tackling inequalities in access to healthcare technologies with our latest animated video! Learn about the project’s mission to improve affordability and sustainability while promoting innovation and considering environmental impacts.
We are excited to share our video showcasing the launch of the ASCERTAIN project in Rotterdam! Our consortium members gathered to kick off this HORIZON-funded initiative project.
Contact
Please get in touch with us if you have any questions or comments! We will get back to you as soon as possible.
For research-related questions:
Carin Uyl-de Groot
Project Coordinator
Erasmus University Rotterdam
ln.rue.mphse@lyu
Phone: +31 10 4081583
For general project questions:
Marcel Langone Marques
Project Manager
Erasmus University Rotterdam
ln.rue@seuqramenognal.lecram
Phone: +31 10 4081583
For communications:
Lena Jessen
Project Manager
OptiMedis
ed.sidemitpo@nessej.l
Phone: +49 40 226211490
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