EHC Campaign: VWF Therapies belong on the European Union’s List of Critical Medicines
Last update: 9 October 2026
The European Haemophilia Consortium (EHC) asks the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Union (EU) Member States to add von Willebrand Factor (VWF)-containing therapies to the EU List of Critical Medicines. For many people living with von Willebrand Disease (VWD), VWF replacement is the only effective treatment, and there is no fallback if supply runs short.
VWD is an inherited bleeding disorder, and VWF replacement therapy is often the only way to control it. A shortage isn’t a paperwork problem: it can mean uncontrolled bleeding during surgery, childbirth, postpartum, or everyday injury. EHC wants VWF added to the EU Critical Medicines List so its supply gets the monitoring and safeguards that status brings.
What is the EU List of Critical Medicines?
It’s a joint EMA–European Commission–Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) tool that flags medicines whose continued supply is considered essential to EU healthcare systems, enabling regulators to watch them more closely and act before a shortage becomes a crisis.
A medicine earns critical status on two grounds: how serious the condition it treats is, and whether there’s a viable alternative if supply is interrupted. Medicines on the List are prioritised for EU-wide action to strengthen their supply chains and reduce the risk of disruption. The List was first published in December 2023, expanded a year later, and is now reviewed annually.
For patients and clinicians, inclusion is not symbolic. It shapes which medicines get closer monitoring, earlier warning of supply problems, and coordinated action across EU Member States when something goes wrong.
Why should VWF therapies be on the list?
Because VWF replacement meets the EU’s own test for criticality: the condition it treats is serious, and for most patients, there is no alternative therapy to switch to.
VWD is the most common inherited bleeding disorder. For patients with type 3 VWD, and many with type 2, VWF replacement is a life-saving therapy when alternatives such as desmopressin prove ineffective. And desmopressin, even where it works, only ever covers part of the patient population, not the full spectrum of VWD.
What happens if VWF supply is disrupted?
Interruptions in access to VWF therapy can lead directly to uncontrolled bleeding, with the greatest risk concentrated around planned, high-stakes moments like surgery and childbirth.
Unlike shortages of medicines with several interchangeable options, a VWF shortage narrows a patient’s choices to very few, or none. That’s the specific vulnerability EHC asks regulators to recognise formally, by adding VWF to the list of medicines whose supply chains get extra scrutiny and protection.
What has EHC done to advocate for VWF’s inclusion?
EHC has pushed the issue at every level it can reach since launching the campaign in 2025: directly with the EMA, through the EU’s own consultation process, across national governments, and through public and social media campaigns.
- Campaign launch in 2025.
EHC issued its first public statement calling on the EMA to add VWF to the EU List of Critical Medicines, paired with a social media campaign to bring the issue to a wider audience. Read the 2025 statement here. - Direct engagement with the EMA and national authorities, in partnership with the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders (EAHAD).
EHC has made the case to the EMA and national competent authorities that VWF meets the criteria for critical-medicine status. - Formal contribution to the EU consultation process.
EHC took part in the EU’s consultation on the Critical Medicines List, working to make sure the lived experience of the bleeding disorders community was represented in the decision. - Pressing EU Member States on their own critical medicines lists.
In parallel with EU-level advocacy, EHC has supported its NMOs with an advocacy toolkit to encourage national authorities to recognise VWF as critical and include it on their national critical medicines lists. - Renewed call on European VWD Awareness Day 2026.
EHC has used its annual Awareness Day campaigns to keep the issue in front of the public and policymakers, centring the voices of people with VWD. On 1 February 2026, EHC reiterated its call for VWF’s inclusion, warning that leaving it off the list puts continuity of care and patient safety at risk. Read the 2026 statement here.
What can stakeholders do to support this campaign?
National patient organisations and clinicians can back EHC’s position by raising VWF’s critical status with their national competent authorities, citing it directly in national critical medicines list submissions, and amplifying EHC campaigns to keep the issue visible to policymakers.
- Raise it nationally: Flag VWF’s critical status directly with national competent authorities, alongside EHC’s EU-level advocacy.
- Cite it in submissions: Reference VWF explicitly whenever a national critical medicines list is reviewed or updated.
- Amplify the campaign: Share and build on EHC’s materials and social media content to keep the issue visible to policymakers and the public.
Every additional voice adds weight to the case EHC has been building since it launched this campaign in 2025.