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Special TopicsIntermediate8 min read

Understanding Open House Procedures

What Open House procedures are, when they are used, and how to participate.

Steps Overview

  1. 1

    Understand the Concept

    Learn what an Open House procedure is and how it differs from classical procurement.

  2. 2

    Know Use Cases

    Open House is used primarily for pharmaceutical rebate agreements and standardized services.

  3. 3

    Check Participation Conditions

    Check whether you meet participation conditions – these are often less strict for Open House.

  4. 4

    Declare Participation

    Declare your participation in the Open House contract under the prescribed conditions.

Understanding Open House Procedures

The Open House procedure is a special form of public procurement where the authority offers contracts to all interested companies under equal conditions – without competition or selection.

Key Features

  • Not a procurement procedure under GWB
  • No selection decision – all qualifying participants are accepted
  • Equal conditions for all contract partners
  • Based on ECJ case law (Falk Pharma, C-410/14)

Use Cases

Primarily used for pharmaceutical rebate agreements (health insurers offering contracts for medications) and standardized services with uniform pricing.

How to Participate

  1. Check the notice on TED or national portals
  2. Verify you meet the conditions
  3. Sign the accession declaration
  4. Contract begins after document review

Pharma Specifics

Open House contracts are often published at short notice. Quick reaction is essential. Patterno BID offers real-time Open House monitoring alerts.

Considerations

  • No negotiation possible – conditions are fixed
  • Carefully assess whether the prescribed price/rebate is economically viable
  • Volume may be distributed among many participants

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