EVENTS
21. October 2026
ASCERTAIN Final Conference
From Evidence to Access: Rethinking Healthcare Decision-Making in Europe
As the ASCERTAIN project comes to a close, we are pleased to invite you to our Final Conference. The event will bring together policymakers, HTA bodies, payers, patient representatives, industry, researchers, and healthcare professionals to explore new approaches to improving access to innovative health technologies in Europe.
Throughout the day, participants will discover ASCERTAIN’s novel pricing, cost-effectiveness, and reimbursement models, developed to support more transparent, evidence-based, and sustainable healthcare decision-making. These approaches will be showcased through the project’s three healthcare use cases – personalised cancer medicines, CAR T-cell therapies, and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) tests for precision oncology – as well as the open-access Policy Support Tool that integrates these models into a practical decision-support environment.
Held at The Dominican in Brussels, the conference will provide a forum for dialogue, collaboration, and reflection on the future of equitable access, affordability, and healthcare innovation in Europe. Attendance at the conference is free of charge.
Who should join?
The conference is aimed at payers and insurance organisations, policymakers and regulators, industry representatives, patient representatives, researchers and academics, and clinicians interested in the future of healthcare decision-making and sustainable access to innovation in Europe.
Why attend?
Explore ASCERTAIN’s key findings, policy recommendations, and open-access tools, including the ASCERTAIN Policy Support Tool. Join experts and stakeholders to discuss the future of affordability, access, and sustainability in European healthcare systems.
- Payers & Insurance: Explore how ASCERTAIN’s pricing, reimbursement, and cost-effectiveness models can support sustainable healthcare decision-making and budget impact assessments. Gain practical insights into affordability, negotiation processes, and value assessment for innovative health technologies.
- Policy & Regulation: Learn how ASCERTAIN’s tools can support more evidence-based, transparent, and sustainable healthcare policy-making across Europe. Discuss future approaches to affordability, patient access, and European cooperation in healthcare decision-making.
- Industry: Gain insights into pricing, reimbursement, and evidence-generation models that may support more transparent and predictable market access pathways. Explore how negotiation parameters, uncertainty, and stakeholder expectations influence future access decisions.
- Patient Representatives: Join discussions on equitable access, affordability, transparency, and patient-centered healthcare decision-making. Explore how ASCERTAIN aims to improve fairness and sustainability in access to innovative health technologies.
- Clinicians: Discuss the challenges surrounding access to innovative therapies, reimbursement, and sustainable healthcare systems. Explore future approaches to balancing innovation, affordability, and clinical value in Europe.
- Research & Academia: Exchange perspectives on innovative methodologies, health technology assessment, pricing, reimbursement, and evidence generation. Explore ASCERTAIN’s integrated framework and discuss future research and policy applications.
Programme
The programme includes keynote presentations, stakeholder panels, interactive workshops, and hands-on demonstrations of the ASCERTAIN Policy Support Tool. Dedicated breakout sessions and interactive activities will explore future policy pathways, reimbursement models, stakeholder perspectives, and equitable access to innovation. Networking opportunities throughout the day will encourage dialogue and collaboration across stakeholder groups. Please note that the agenda is preliminary and will be continuously updated as the programme develops.
19:00 – 21:00 | Pre-conference dinner (optional)
We invite you to our pre-conference dinner at The Dominican on 20 October 2026.
08:30 – 09:00 | Registration & Welcome Coffee
- Participant registration
- Informal networking and arrival coffee
09:00 – 10:30 | Opening Session: Setting the Scene
- Welcome and event introduction
- Keynote on affordability, access, and the evolving European HTA and policy landscape
- Introduction to ASCERTAIN’s framework and its novel pricing, cost-effectiveness, and
reimbursement models for innovative health technologies - Stakeholder panel: perspectives from patients, policymakers, payers, and industry
10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee Break & Networking
- Refreshments and informal discussions
11:00 – 12:00 | ASCERTAIN Policy Support Tool: Models in Practice
- Demonstration of the Policy Support Tool integrating pricing, cost-effectiveness, and
reimbursement models - Application in three clinical use cases:
- Personalised cancer medicines
- CAR T-cell therapies
- Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) tests for precision oncology
- Persona-based walkthroughs using real healthcare decision-making scenarios
12:00 – 13:00 | Interactive ASCERTAIN Experience Hub
- One-on-one demonstrations of the Policy Support Tool with consortium experts
- “Meet the expert” discussion area
- Future of Healthcare Wall: How can Europe ensure sustainable and equitable access to
innovative health technologies over the next decade?
13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch Break
- Networking lunch
14:00 – 15:30 | Parallel Stakeholder Workshops
Applying ASCERTAIN’s pricing, cost-effectiveness, and reimbursement models to real-world
decision-making scenarios
- Policy & HTA Decision Lab
- Industry & Payer Strategy Lab
- Patient Advocacy & Societal Value Lab
15:30 – 15:45 | Coffee Break
- Refreshments and networking
15:45 – 16:30 | Final Stakeholder Reflection Panel
- Reflections on ASCERTAIN’s pricing, cost-effectiveness and reimbursement models,
Policy Support Tool, and their potential for real-world adoption - Discussion on adoption opportunities and implementation barriers
- Stakeholder perspectives on future relevance
16:30 – 16:45 | Closing Remarks & Future Outlook
- Consortium vision beyond the project
- Sustainability, partnerships, and future opportunities
- Next steps for the ASCERTAIN ecosystem
16:45 – 17:30 | Reception Drinks & Networking
- Informal closing reception
- Continued stakeholder exchange and networking
Speakers
Carin Uyl-de Groot
Prof. Dr. Carin Uyl-de Groot is Professor of Health Technology Assessment at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Director of the institute for Medical Technology Assessment (iMTA) in the Netherlands. She is the project lead of ASCERTAIN and has extensive experience in health technology assessment, health economics, and cancer research. Her work focuses on cost-effectiveness, outcomes research, pricing, reimbursement, and implementation studies, particularly in oncology. She has served in leading roles within international organisations and conferences, including ISPOR and ESMO, and has been a member of the Dutch Health Council since 2015. In addition, she has contributed to the development of clinical practice guidelines and leads several cancer registries and outcomes studies.
Charlotte Roffiaen
Eline Aas
Prof. Dr. Eline Aas is Professor at the Department of Health Management and Health Economics at the University of Oslo and holds a joint position at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Her research focuses on economic evaluations alongside clinical trials, decision-analytic modelling, register data analysis, health behaviour, and health inequalities. She has evaluated clinical trials across areas including colorectal cancer screening, precision cancer medicine, liver transplantation, hip fractures, traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, and mental health. Many studies combine clinical trial and register data. Prof. Aas leads several research projects and teaches master’s courses in Economic Evaluation, including the EU-HEM programme.
Joanne M. Hackett
Dr. Joanne M. Hackett is Vice President and Global Head of Health System Services at IQVIA, leading global strategy and innovation across healthcare systems, data, and transformation. She previously served as Chief Commercial Officer at Genomics England. A clinical academic, entrepreneur, and investor, she has extensive experience spanning start-ups, public institutions, and Fortune 500 organisations. Her work focuses on personalised medicine, prevention, open science, citizen genomics, and scalable, cost-effective healthcare solutions. An internationally recognised healthcare leader, she has received numerous awards for innovation and leadership. She is also a sought-after speaker and internationally known yoga instructor, promoting the belief that health equals wealth.
Jonathan Clark
Jonathan Clark is an independent Strategy & Innovation advisor, offering one-to-one coaching, innovation leadership training, workshops and large-scale events. Before founding his own company in 2010, he spent 20 years at Elsevier. He is also a Guest Lecturer and External Examiner for master’s programmes in business innovation and strategic events management at Breda University of Applied Sciences, and serves as Managing Agent for the DOI Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation supporting the Digital Object Identifier System. Diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma in 2014, he later received CAR-T cell therapy after relapse and now lives mostly in Croatia, appreciating each moment today.
Maximilian Salcher-Konrad
Maximilian Salcher-Konrad is a Senior Health Expert and Deputy Head of the Pharmacoeconomics Department at Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, the Austrian National Public Health Institute. His research focuses on pharmaceutical pricing, reimbursement, procurement, and policy. He holds an MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and a BSc in Economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Previously a Research Fellow at the LSE, he has led and published studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses on comparative effectiveness, pharmaceutical regulation, and economic evaluation.
Prof. Wim van Harten MD PhD
Prof. Wim van Harten MD PhD is an emeritus professor of Quality Management and Health Care Technology at the University of Twente and an internationally recognised expert in health technology assessment and healthcare management. He served for more than 30 years in executive hospital leadership, most recently as CEO of Rijnstate Hospital in the Netherlands (2015–2023), and previously as Executive Board Member of the Netherlands Cancer Institute. He is Research Group Leader at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Principal Investigator of the European Fair Pricing Network. Prof. van Harten has published over 250 peer-reviewed papers and advises organisations on health economics, innovation, strategic development, and organisational improvement.
More information about confirmed speakers will be announced soon.
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Event location
The Dominican
Rue Léopold / Leopoldstraat 9
1000 Brussels, Belgium
If you would like to benefit from a preferential hotel rate, please contact Marcel Langone Marques for further information via e-mail: ln.rue@seuqramenognal.lecram
Photo: thedominican.be
Booking
Attendance at the conference is free of charge.