The European Coalition for Mental Health Medicines Innovation (EU-MIC) launched at October’s European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress in Munich. PAREA is part of the coalition, with Tadeusz Hawrot representing the organisation on its Project Committee.
The three-year initiative brings together scientific and medical societies, patient and family organisations, and industry to examine why Europe is falling behind in psychiatric medicines innovation.
Regulatory and reimbursement barriers
EU-MIC will examine the obstacles facing new mental health medicines, including regulatory approval and reimbursement. It will also generate evidence on the costs of untreated mental illness and the value of new treatments.
The coalition will work with regulators, payers, health technology assessment bodies, clinicians and policymakers to understand where development and access stall, and what changes could help. Patient and family organisations will contribute their experience of treatment needs and barriers to care.
PAREA’s contribution
PAREA has advocated for mental health innovation to receive greater attention in European health, research and competitiveness policy. EU-MIC gives this work a broader base, bringing organisations with different expertise together around shared concerns.
Many of the questions the coalition will examine are central to our work on psychedelic therapies: how regulatory pathways support clinical development, what evidence healthcare systems need to assess a treatment’s value, and how reimbursement affects patient access.
Through the Project Committee, PAREA will contribute experience from its regulatory advocacy and work with national psychedelic organisations. We look forward to working with coalition partners on proposals that address these barriers across mental health medicines.
