Czech MEP urges EU to tackle pharma reliance, cut bureaucracy, curb monopolies

The EU's increasing reliance on pharmaceutical production from non-EU countries, particularly India and China, has raised serious concerns, newly elected Czech MEP Ondřej Dostál (NI) said in an interview with Euractiv Czechia.

He points out that basic medicines are being sourced from outside Europe, making the EU vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. “In 2023, we witnessed certain supply chain disruptions, especially in antibiotics,” Dostál, Czech MEP and ENVI committee member, noted.

This vulnerability is part of a broader conversation about the future of the EU’s pharmaceutical sector as the bloc works on major reforms of its pharmaceutical legislation.

“Medicines are an element of strategic security, they are something we should think about and even allocate some funds for,” Dostál, who worked before as a lawyer specialising in the field of law and health care relations, argued. His call highlights the importance of bringing pharmaceutical production back to Europe as part of the EU’s strategy for greater self-sufficiency in healthcare.

Easing the regulatory burden

Another of Dostál’s key points is the heavy regulatory burden that pharmaceutical companies face within the EU. He argues that this has driven much of the industry out of Europe, making it difficult to maintain a stable domestic supply of critical medicines.

“Medicines are made in factories, and by their nature, they are chemical factories. This means that the Green Deal affects them too. We need to strike the right balance,” said Dostál.

He explained that while the EU must avoid allowing highly toxic production environments, as seen in other countries, the conditions for pharmaceutical manufacturing must be practical enough to encourage companies to return production to the EU.

Dostál also stressed the issue of innovative medicines, such as biological drugs and gene therapies. The EU, he warns, is falling behind countries like the United States in the field of research and development.

“To provide our citizens with medicines affordable for our public healthcare systems, we must focus on production, research, development, and patents, ensuring they do not hinder patients' access to medicines,” he explained.

One of the major issues to innovation and affordability in the EU is the current patent protection system. According to Dostál, while patents are necessary for pharmaceutical companies to recoup their significant research and development costs, the bureaucratic delays involved in the registration and reimbursement processes limit the time companies can effectively benefit from their patents.

"It is not about extending patent protection but rather shortening the processes so companies can make better use of the protection patents provide," Dostál said. His call for streamlining these processes aims to ensure that companies still have the incentive to innovate while making medicines more accessible to the market faster.

Price disparities

Dostál also highlighted the issue of price disparities across EU member states, which he argues are a consequence of fragmented markets. Fragmentation results in some countries, particularly those with weaker economies, struggling to afford essential medicines, while wealthier countries face inflated prices.

He also pointed to the problem of monopolies in the pharmaceutical sector, which he believes contributes to these price inequalities.

“In some cheaper countries, which are less able to afford high prices, medicines are completely absent. In other states, excessive prices are being charged,” Dostál observed, adding that Czech patients sometimes have to travel across Europe to obtain the medicines.

The solution, according to Dostál, is for the EU to use its collective purchasing power to negotiate better deals with large pharmaceutical companies.

“The EU, as a major buyer, should be able to use its position against these large pharmaceutical corporations, mostly multinationals,” he explained. This approach would allow the EU to counter the economic power of pharmaceutical giants and secure more equitable pricing across the bloc.

[Edited by Vasiliki Angouridi, Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab]