| Author (Person) | Ager, Brian |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.28, 24.7.03, p15 |
| Publication Date | 24/07/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date:24/07/03 By Brian Ager ON THE first of this month, the European Commission adopted a communication which outlines practical proposals for enhancing innovation and provision of medicines in Europe. This communication is the Commission's response to the May 2002 medicines report adopted by a group of high-level policymakers under the leadership of Commissioners Erkki Liikanen, enterprise, and David Byrne, health - the so-called G10. At the heart of the G10 initiative is concern caused by the deterioration of the European pharmaceutical industry's competitiveness. The Commission stresses that a dynamic pharmaceutical industry is a critical requirement for meeting Europe's economic, social and public health goals. In this respect, it invites the Union's institutions, member states and other stakeholders to push forward a set of key actions with the objective of enhancing industry competitiveness. It is vital that the actions are implemented as a package; "cherry-picking" particular recommendations risks destroying the balance between industrial and public health policy objectives enshrined in G10's work. The communication provides a reference point for key legislative initiatives aimed at stimulating research and development in Europe, ensuring more rapid decision-making and efficient registration procedures and speeding up market access for innovative medicines. For the first time, the Commission has put forward a package of practical proposals and actions that, in part, can be seen as breaking new ground as it addresses issues relating to the structure and evolution of the single market. The road towards the completion of a single pharmaceutical market is very long. In a December 1996 judgement, the European Court of Justice stressed that the imposition of price controls is a factor likely to distort competition among member states and called on community authorities to remedy trade distortions caused by differences among pharmaceutical pricing laws. Indeed, those countries that favour innovation in their pricing policy are the target of parallel imports from countries that impose the lowest price. Europe will be unable to implement an industrial policy for its research-based pharmaceutical industry as long as it lacks a long-term vision of the pharmaceutical market and health care systems. This is what G10 is all about. This vision requires the setting up of open and competitive markets in the EU. G10 recommends that price controls, where they exist, should be limited to those medicines purchased or reimbursed by the state. This recommendation is a first step towards a long-term vision of the European market. It embraces the free movement of goods and the subsidiarity principle: it does not dull member states' ability to negotiate or control the price of reimbursed medicines, yet it would enable European patients to get immediate access to new medicines at the same time in all EU countries. This will reduce the differences that exist between member states in the availability of new medicines and in their diffusion. Furthermore, this approach would help address the availability and affordability of pharmaceuticals in the context of accession countries' public health care systems. In fact, the set of proposals will help ensure the future supply of high-quality medicines to all European citizens. Another key aspect is to drive European research. Health challenges facing Europe require new technologies, and in particular biotechnology. The communication calls for the implementation of Europe's life sciences and biotechnology action plan and urges governments to boost entrepreneurial innovation and to tap into the potential of emerging biotechnology enterprises. Europe must give itself the means to achieve its Lisbon 2000 objective of increasing research spending to 3% of European gross domestic product by 2010. The European research-based pharmaceutical industry can make a significant contribution to this goal.
The European Commission adopted a Communication on 1 July 2003 which seeks to enhance innovation and the provision of medicines in Europe. |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry, Health |
