Break The Bubble - an Incisive Health podcast

Across Europe, a new chapter in Health Technology Assessment is taking shape. Member States are now working together to assess the clinical value of new medicines through Joint Clinical Assessments under the EU HTA Regulation. One year into its application, the conversation is moving from theory to reality. What does implementation actually look like? How are the first Joint Clinical Assessments b...

Across Europe, health systems are at a critical turning point. Ageing populations, workforce shortagesand rising care needs are testing the sustainability of our model and deepening inequalities acrossEurope. The question is no longer whether change is needed, but how quickly and how efficiently weact. In this episode of Break the Bubble, Incisive Health Senior Counsel, Hans Martins sits down with...

The future of Europe’s health systems is at a crossroads. Ageing populations, workforce shortages, rising costs, and the lessons of COVID-19 are putting resilience at the top of the agenda. But how can governments adapt rigid systems, embrace digital transformation, and ensure patients truly benefit from innovation? In this episode of Break the Bubble, Incisive Health’s Senior Counsel Hans Martens...

With Denmark taking over the EU Council Presidency on 1st July 2025, a new chapter in European health policy is about to begin. In this episode of Break the Bubble, Incisive Health’s Senior Counsel Hans Martens is joined by Edward James Smith, Head of the EU Office at the Danish Ministry of the Interior and Health. They talk about Denmark’s priorities for the months ahead — from strengthening Euro...

The European Health Data Space, or simply the EHDS, was officially launched in April 2025, marking a major milestone in the EU’s vision for a more connected and data-driven health system. But turning that vision into reality prompts a long list of practical questions about data, trust, innovation, and the roles of Member States, industry, and patients alike. In this episode of Break the Bubble, In...

In about two-thirds of EU countries, the responsibility for delivering healthcare services lies not with the central government, but with the regions. In this episode of Break the Bubble, our Senior Director Valentina Polylas speaks with Michele Calabrò, Director of EUREGHA, the network of European Regional and Local Health Authorities to discuss why regional actors are central to health policy im...

Break the Bubble welcomes COCIR’s Secretary General, Annabel Seebohm. Together with our Senior Counsel Hans Martens she outlines COCIR’s vision for the future of health policy in the EU as well as the contribution of its highly innovative members to the improvement and modernization of European health systems. With almost all the pieces of this new European mandate now in place, here is a vision f...

This episode features a great conversation between our Senior Counsel Hans Martens and Anca Toma, Executive Director of the European Patients' Forum. With the uncertainty surrounding a seemingly fragmented health policy portfolio, Hans and Anca look at EPF’s vision for the years to come in the EU, at what the European Health Data Space will change for European patients, and, among other things, ho...

How can the EU keep the pace of rapid technological change and evolving healthcare challenges? In this episode of The Break the Bubble podcast, we are joined by Pernille Weiss, former Danish Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur for the EU pharmaceutical legislation directive. Together with our Senior Counsel, Hans Martens, she explores the journey of the General Pharmaceutical Legislat...

In an era marked by higher risk of pandemics, natural disasters, and geopolitical tensions, the resilience of health systems becomes ever more crucial. In the latest episode of The Break the Bubble podcast our Senior Counsel, Hans Martens, sits down with Jonathan Cylus, head of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies’ London Hub to discuss the main findings of Strengthening Health...

In today’s episode, our Senior Counsel, Hans Martens, sits down with former Director General of DG Sante, Anne Bucher, to set the scene for a watershed year not just for health policy in Europe and around the world. With elections filling up the 2024 calendar, what changes can we expect in the EU? And what does this mean for health policy?

In this episode, we explore the concepts of Strategic and Health sovereignty with our Senior Council Hans Martens looking at what they could mean for life science companies operating in Europe. With European elections coming up in 2024 and a continuously evolving international scenario, how can you approach and integrate these concepts into your strategies? Hosted by Gianluca Peinetti, Associate D...

The first episode of Break the Bubble features dives into the measures needed to prevent and address Plasma Derived Medicinal Products (PDMPs) shortages. This episode features the Global Head of Regulatory Policy at the Plasma and Proteins Therapeutics Association, Dominika Misztela who, together with Eduardo Pisani, looks at why PDMPs are essential and unique and how ongoing EU policy and legisla...