The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA) signed the Service Contract for the Provision of Joint Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Work Supporting the Continuation of EU Cooperation on HTA (CHAFEA/LUX/2020/OP/0013) with the EUnetHTA 21 Consortium. The 24-month contract is due to expire on 16 September 2023 and the EUnetHTA 21 Consortium will cease operating as of this date.
EUnetHTA 21 served as the successor of EUnetHTA Joint Action 3 and aimed to further develop HTA methodology as well as produce a number of Joint Scientific Consultations and Joint Clinical Assessments. By the end of the Service Contract, the Consortium would have produced more than 60 high-quality deliverables which will be further refined and potentially adopted by the HTA Coordination Group (HTACG) under the European Regulation on HTA (HTAR). Click here for more information about the HTA Regulation.
On the success of EUnetHTA 21 as well as the various proceeding HTA joint actions and collaborative projects, Chair of the Consortium Executive Board, Niklas Hedberg said: “The European Network for Health Technology Assessment has been a true success story. From what started off as an informal initiative between a few agencies in 2006, EUnetHTA has gone on to facilitate a variety of joint work and joint modes of collaboration on HTA. This dedication to HTA and the need for efficiency has contributed to the HTAR which installs a permanent system of HTA collaboration in Europe. I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single individual whose contributions have made this milestone possible. The HTA system was built from the ground up and could not have been achieved without the dedication and hard work of various experts in their fields from across Europe”.
The closure of the EUnetHTA 21 Consortium marks the end of more than 17 years of voluntary project-based collaboration on HTA. Continued collaboration will be facilitated under the HTAR, with the HTACG supporting its continued implementation.
A FAQ is available at the end of this press release.
Frequently asked questions
What will happen to the EUnetHTA 21 website?
This website, along with the tools and resources available on it, will continue to be available online for a limited amount of time after the end of the Service Contract. We recommend downloading any material you find useful from the EUnetHTA 21 website as soon as possible.
Am I still able to access EUnetHTA documents after the end of the Service Contract?
We are currently working on a repository to keep EUnetHTA documents online after the end of the Service Contract. More information about this will be released as and when available.
What will happen to the EUnetHTA 21 Secretariat?
The EUnetHTA 21 General Secretariat, currently based at the Dutch National Healthcare Institute in the Netherlands, will continue to operate and respond to queries for 10 working days after the end of the Service Contract. The general inbox, eunethta@zinl.nl, will also continue to be operational during this period. The email inbox will no longer be monitored after the 10 working days have passed.
Who do I get in touch with once the Secretariat has been disbanded?
The HTA Regulation Secretariat at the European Commission will be the contact point for matters related to HTA collaboration under the HTAR. To contact them, you may email SANTE-HTA@ec.europa.eu.
Will the EUnetHTA network continue to operate?
We are currently exploring maintaining the EUnetHTA brand under a different framework in order to facilitate potential future voluntary collaboration. More information about this will be released as and when available.
