After the BeNeLuxA initiative, we now have the International Horizon Scanning Initiative: a central database that will assist nine European countries in preparing for the arrival of new, potentially expensive drugs on the market. This initiative was launched in Brussels on 29 October.
It consists of a central database that contains information about all new drugs or drugs under development. Political leaders will be able to use it to identify future challenges, define priorities and anticipate opportunities. Governments will also be able to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to keep prices down.
IHSI is the result of a collaboration that began in 2017 between Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria, under the name BeNeLuxA. The other Member States were involved too: seven countries (Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, Slovenia and Portugal) met and issued the Valletta Declaration and ten (including eight EU Member States) issued the Sofia Declaration (Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, along with Macedonia and Serbia) (see EUROPE 11922/10).
Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block said that “many other countries” had already expressed an interest in joining the IHSI initiative. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)