WHO has launched the European Access Dialogue Platform (EADP) – a new dialogue platform for open, structured and inclusive discussion across the lifecycle of new and innovative so called “novel” medicines.
The EADP was launched on 2 November 2026 at a meeting of the Access to Novel Medicines (NMP) multistakeholder collaboration platform, with representatives from WHO Member States, patient and civil society organizations, WHO partner organizations and industry associations, where the private sector and public sector can work together and agree on actions that improve patient access to novel medicines in the WHO European Region.
The EADP is a voluntary, WHO-convened forum, the goal of which is to enhance timely, affordable, sustainable and equitable access to novel medicines across the Region.
Why the EADP is needed
Countries across the Region face growing challenges in ensuring access to high-cost, complex medicines, such as gene and cell therapies and treatments for rare diseases.
Many of these products reach the market with substantial clinical uncertainty and costs that strain health budgets, as well as burdening patients and their families. These challenges are felt most in smaller markets and in countries with more limited purchasing power.
“No single country, payer, company or patient organization can solve this challenge alone,” said Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director of the Division of Health Systems at WHO/Europe. “The EADP gives all stakeholders the opportunity to sit at the same table, in a timely and open way, to understand each other’s constraints and look for practical solutions together.”
The next phase of the NMP
Since its establishment in 2023, the NMP has served as a neutral space where stakeholders exchange information and co-create solutions. The EADP – one of 10 projects endorsed at the NMP consensus-building meeting in Copenhagen in July 2024 – gives this exchange a structured and continuous form. Its Principles were developed collaboratively by a project team, including WHO Member States, patient and civil society organizations, WHO partner organizations and industry associations.
Built on trust and transparency
WHO acts as a neutral convener, in full compliance with its Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors. Dialogues bring together a balanced range of stakeholders, exclude product-specific and commercially sensitive information and comply fully with competition rules. Participation is voluntary and outcomes are non-binding: they inform, but do not replace, national decision-making.
What the dialogues addresses
The EADP starts with general, non-product-specific dialogue on health system-level challenges. Discussions are expected to contribute to greater alignment on acceptable levels of clinical and economic uncertainty, coordinated approaches to evidence generation, including real-world evidence, and a shared understanding of access barriers.
They also support shared learning on innovative payment and procurement mechanisms, and stronger integration of patient needs and lived experience into decision-making.
The EADP is open to all countries of the Region and complements existing national and international initiatives.
How to get involved
The NMP Steering Committee, which is chaired by WHO Member States, oversees the EADP and selects the topics for discussion. Any stakeholder can propose a topic using the topic proposal template set out in Annex 3 of the Principles. Proposals are reviewed against clear criteria, including relevance, policy significance, the added value of regional dialogue, feasibility, cross-country applicability and stakeholder demand.
Once a topic is approved, stakeholder groups are invited to nominate experts. A dialogue on a topic may span several meetings. Once all meetings on a topic are completed, WHO/Europe publishes an anonymized final summary, approved by the NMP Steering Committee, setting out the key discussion points, areas of convergence and divergence and possible follow-up.
Stakeholders are invited to submit topic proposals to the WHO/Europe NMP Secretariat at euro-nmp@who.int.