1. The Coordination Group shall carry out joint scientific consultations in order to exchange information with health technology developers on their development plans for a given health technology. Those consultations shall facilitate the generation of evidence that meets the likely evidence requirements of a subsequent joint clinical assessment on that health technology. The joint scientific consultation shall include a meeting with the health technology developer and result in an outcome document that outlines the scientific recommendation made. Joint scientific consultations shall in particular concern all relevant clinical study design aspects, or clinical investigation design aspects, including comparators, interventions, health outcomes and patient populations. When carrying out joint scientific consultations on health technologies other than medicinal products, the specificities of those health technologies shall be taken into account.
2. A health technology shall be eligible for joint scientific consultations pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article where it is likely to be the subject of joint clinical assessment pursuant to Article 7(1) and where the clinical studies and clinical investigations are still in the planning stage.
3. The joint scientific consultation outcome document shall not give rise to any legal effects on Member States, the Coordination Group or the health technology developer. Joint scientific consultations shall not prejudice the joint clinical assessment which may be carried out on the same health technology.
4. Where a Member State carries out a national scientific consultation on a health technology that has been the subject of a joint scientific consultation, in order to complement it or to address context-specific issues related to national HTA system, the member of the Coordination Group concerned shall inform the Coordination Group thereof via the IT platform referred to in Article 30.
5. Joint scientific consultations on medicinal products may take place in parallel with the scientific advice from the European Medicines Agency pursuant to Article 57(1), point (n), of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004. Such parallel consultations shall involve the exchange of information and have synchronised timing, while preserving the separation of the respective remits of the Coordination Group and the European Medicines Agency. Joint scientific consultations on medical devices may take place in parallel with the consultation of the expert panels pursuant to Article 61(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/745.