Kathleen Grieve, Martina Garau, & Bettina Ryll: Accelerating Patient Access To Cancer Medicines In Europe

In this episode of the Vital Health Podcast, host Duane Schulthess speaks with three experts on accelerated patient access to cancer medicines at ISPOR Europe 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland:

• Martina Garau: Director at Office of Health Economics
• Bettina Ryll: Founder at MPNEurope
• Kathleen Grieve: Director - European Public Policy, Access, Pricing and Affordability Lead at MSD Europe

They explore why accelerated access matters when evidence is still emerging, how the APACE framework proposes a structured path from eligibility through reassessment, what it could take to reduce fragmentation across national HTA and reimbursement processes, and why pragmatic pilots and agreed data expectations are central to learning while treating.

Key Topics:

• Accelerated Access: Urgency in life-threatening cancer, uneven uptake across countries, and patient time sensitivity.
• APACE Framework: Eligibility screening, initial assessment, temporary reimbursement, reassessment, and exit decisions.
• National Alignment: EU-level assessment versus country decisions, shared principles, local implementation limits.
• Evidence Uncertainty: Early evidence tradeoffs, real-world data needs, and affordability pressure under uncertainty.
• Getting Started: Pilot use cases, coalition of the willing, dynamic evidence expectations over time.

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers. This podcast was supported by Merck Sharp & Dohme as part of the APACE project, in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca.

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