We've done it before. And we’ll do it again. Joint Nordic negotiations are here to stay.
Therefore, procurement organisations in Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have agreed on common guidelines and criteria for joint price negotiations for new medicines.
The new principles are based on experience gained by the countries from the joint Nordic negotiations that have already taken place.
“In the joint Nordic strategy we launched in spring 2023, our ambition is to strengthen joint negotiations for new medicines. Therefore, an entirely natural next step is to develop common guidelines for our future negotiations. This will send a clear signal to benefit our cooperation partners,” says Flemming Sonne, CEO of Amgros.
The four countries have already completed joint price negotiations for the gene therapies, Zynteglo and Libmeldy. This experience shows that there are clear advantages in joint negotiations.
“Joint negotiations between countries create a larger market. This can make it more attractive for our suppliers, because they can increase their opportunities to introduce new medicines to the whole Nordic market at the same time. As citizens of small countries, joint negotiations are a clear advantage for Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway,” says Hulda Harðardóttir, Project Manager for the Pharmaceutical Procurement Department, Landspítali, National University Hospital of Iceland.
The challenges for new medicines are the same in all the Nordic countries. They are often associated with high costs and limited evidence. Therefore, all the countries want to be able to negotiate more favourable and sustainable prices that make it possible to secure patients access to new medicines at the right time.
“In this context, our joint negotiations help to support the national decision-makers who decide whether the countries are to use the new medicines. In the long term, I think this will have a significant impact on prioritisation of the many new medicines constantly entering the market,” says Tommy Juhl Nielsen, Director, Pharma Division at Sykehusinnkjøp HF in Norway.
Even though the joint negotiations with procurement organisations take place in four different countries, the countries have tried to make the principles as simple as possible, so that suppliers do not experience bureaucratic difficulties.
Each supplier will have one contact person representing all the countries taking part in a negotiation. The result of the negotiation will be the same across all the participating countries. However, more importantly, the common guidelines will make the criteria for negotiations more transparent.
“We think that this is a very important advantage. Suppliers are entitled to know the criteria for our joint negotiations. This will help their business. And even though I think we already have very good relationships with our suppliers, clearer guidelines may strengthen confidence in the work taking place in the countries’ procurement organisations,” says the spokesman for the New Therapies Council, Gerd Lärfars.
Read more about the principles in the joint Nordic statement
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Karen Torgny
Senior communication specialist
I’m responsible for overall communication at Amgros, including PR. And I help to ensure that we communicate with the surrounding world in an open and engaging manner.