Tag: pharmaceuticals

The European Parliament, in agreement with EU member states, has added 12 new substances to the EU priority list of pollutants known to pose a risk to surface water. For the first time, three pharmaceuticals will also be included on a "watch list" of emerging pollutants that could one day be added to the priority list.

The European Parliament is debating a draft biopiracy law requiring industry to compensate indigenous people if it makes commercial use of local knowledge such as plant-based medicines.

The OECD is urging its member governments to harmonise their clinical trial approval processes, citing a decline in the pharmaceutical sector in the EU, where the number of applications for clinical trials fell 25% between 2007 and 2011.

Viral hepatitis belongs to the group of the top 10 infectious disease killers in Europe with 125,000 patients who die each year. Despite its considerable impact, it receives too little attention by health policymakers although small efforts could already yield major improvements, says MEP Marina Yannakoudakis.

Healthcare budgets constitute one of the largest chunks of public expenditure throughout the EU, and the associated industry is considered one of Europe’s success stories. Europeans consider healthcare as one of the benchmarks that sets the continent apart in terms of quality of life from other nations. But the ageing demographic, and the shock of the financial crisis have brought the contrast between Europe’s ideals and reality sharply into focus.

The European Commission is proposing for the first time to regulate pharmaceutical pollutants in surface water, citing their potential health hazards to humans and aquatic life.

Indian pharmaceutical industry representatives and NGOs have voiced opposition to an imminent EU-India free trade agreement (FTA) which they claim would limit the emerging nation's ability to produce generic drugs.

Fast-growing economies such as China and India could provide lucrative new markets for Europe's pharmaceutical industry, but emerging nations are investing heavily in their own medicines sector and look set to challenge Western dominance of the healthcare market.

Fewer animals will be used in the search for new medical cures as part of new rules on research backed by the European Parliament yesterday (8 September).

Ambitious European biotech firms still look to the US when they need large sums of venture capital, according to EU officials, who fear home-grown talent is crossing the Atlantic. 

The EU executive is planning a major overhaul of the rules governing medical research amid a growing acceptance that a directive in place since 2004 has hampered clinical trials.

A new Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and India could make it more difficult for the world's poorest patients to access antiretroviral drugs, according to humanitarian aid group, Médecins Sans Frontières.

Healthcare lobbyists have scored a major victory in convincing European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to give responsibility for pharmaceuticals to the new health commissioner.

The EU executive's decision not to legislate against online pharmacies is a major flaw in its proposal to fight counterfeit medicines, according to leading politicians responsible for pushing the new law through the European Parliament. 

The European Commission is today widely expected to confirm earlier allegations that big pharma groups are breaching EU competition rules by blocking the entry of cheaper generics onto the European market.

Pharmacists have expressed relief following a landmark judgement by Europe's top court which upheld the right of EU countries to insist that pharmacies are owned and operated exclusively by pharmacists.

The European Commission yesterday (10 December) unveiled new pharmaceutical legislation designed to improve medicinal information available to patients and combat growing proliferation of counterfeit medicines in the EU.

The European Commission's crackdown on a number of pharmaceutical companies earlier this week has baffled the industry, which is holding its breath ahead of the publication of an EU inquiry into the sector on Friday (28 November).

Advertising rules for prescription medicines, which are currently banned in Europe, could be relaxed in one of the most controversial initiatives expected in the Commission’s upcoming pharmaceuticals package, due in October. 

A number of hurdles related to the weakness of the European patent system prevent innovation and competition in the pharmaceutical sector and hinder timely market entry of cheap generic drugs, argues a generic medicine industry report.

Top pharmaceuticals companies have to make some tough decisions regarding their future in the infectious disesase market as patents of major products to cure these diseases face expiry, argues independent market analyst Datamonitor.

As a first step towards expanded transatlantic cooperation on medicines regulation, the EU and US drug administrations have agreed on a common format to allow pharma and biotech companies to request market approval of so-called orphan drugs by both jurisdictions with a single application.

Humanitarian aid group Médecins Sans Frontières has urged the EU to support the Indian government in a bitter legal fight against Swiss Pharma company Novartis over patented medicines.

Citizens must not be excluded from access to information on such critical issues as health by their own governments, argues MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, member of the High Level Pharmaceutical Forum (HLPF).