Want to bring your treatment to the Finnish market? Then you need to understand what PALKO is and what it does.

In Finland, market access for hospital drugs and medical technologies isn’t just about regulatory approval, it’s about PALKO.

The Finnish Council for Choices in Health Care (Palveluvalikoimaneuvosto, PALKO) acts as a critical gatekeeper in the publicly funded healthcare system. Before a new inpatient pharmaceutical or health technology can be reimbursed or widely adopted, it must pass through PALKO’s recommendation and the associated assessment of necessity, clinical relevance and cost-effectiveness made by the Finnish Medicines Agency (Lääkealan turvallisuus- ja kehittämiskeskus, FIMEA).

📌Why does this matters for market access?
Because without a PALKO recommendation, wide use is mostly off the table. And in Finland’s decentralized healthcare model, that significantly limits real-world uptake.

Highlights from recent PALKO activity:
✅ All seven PALKO recommendations issued in 2025 have focused on hospital drugs. Five were positive, while two were negative.
✅ In 2024, 13 recommendations addressed hospital drugs, and only two pertaining to medical technologies.
✅ Although welfare regions (wellbeing services counties) make the final decisions on adoption, PALKO’s recommendations carry substantial weight in determining access and reimbursement.

We help clients prepare for PALKO with evidence that speaks their language.
💡 Planning a submission in Finland? Want to know what makes a successful PALKO recommendation?

Let’s talk about how we can support you!