Health
Access to SMA standards of care remains an open issue in Europe
For people living with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), access to suitable and effective treatment often depends on which EU country they live in. Stakeholders are now calling for equal access to standards of care across the bloc.
Life with SMA: challenges and solutions
Despite steady advancements in the past years, gaps in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) care persist across the bloc.
Luxembourg moves to allow growing recreational cannabis at home
The Luxembourgish government announced on Friday (22 October) it will allow its 620,000 inhabitants to grow cannabis for personal use.
Vaccine waiver battle rumbles into EU–African Union summit
EU and African officials are still at loggerheads over whether to waive intellectual property protection for COVID vaccines ahead of a meeting between EU and African Union foreign ministers meet in Rwanda next week.
Swedish football and sustainability
Magdalena Eriksson shares her thoughts about how football can contribute to sustainability initiatives.
French government to invest €650 million in digital health
France has the potential to be a "leader in digital health", Health Minister Olivier Véran has said, announcing an investment plan of €650 million, divided into five axes, to accelerate the national digital health strategy, as part of the Health Innovation 2030 plan.
India reaches milestone of one billion vaccinations
India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive has achieved a historic milestone of administering 1 billion vaccine doses, mostly India-made, the authorities in New Delhi announced on Thursday (21 October).
MEPs unite to protect workers from toxic asbestos in ‘historic’ vote
The European Parliament has voted by a vast majority to adopt a report on protecting workers from asbestos in what has been dubbed a "historic" move.OpinionPromoted content
Staying at the forefront of alternatives to animal testing
The EU is leading the way in protecting animals used for scientific purposes and transitioning to chemical safety assessment using alternative methods. But how can we remain in pole position and accelerate our move away from conventional animal tests? Maurice...
Opioid use: “more controlled” in Europe than in the US
The consumption of opioid painkillers increased in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Is this enough to signal the risk of an opioid crisis similar to the one in the United States? Not really, experts say.OpinionPromoted content
How essential is microbial control for the functioning of society?
Within its Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the European Commission will design criteria to phase out the most harmful chemicals for non-essential societal use. In this article MCEC builds a case on why microbial control technologies are essential.
Latvia announces four weeks of lockdown as COVID-19 cases spike
Latvia announced a COVID-19 lockdown from 21 October until 15 November to try to slow a spike in infections in one of the least vaccinated European Union countries.
Commission’s advertisement team-up with UEFA raises hackles
The launch of the European Commission’s new #EveryTrickCounts campaign seeks to leverage the widespread love of Europe’s favourite sport but has resulted in ridicule and scathing accusations of "greenwashing".
Media Partnership: Integrative Oncology – The missing link in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
Cancer is a top health priority for the European Union, as every year, 3.5 million people in the EU are diagnosed with cancer, and 1.3 million die from it.
Fighting metastatic breast cancer is a race against time in Poland
Ewa Myślińska is a 29-year-old patient who has been fighting cancer for four years now. She remembers it was 9 October when she touched her breast incidentally and felt a strange hardness. EURACTIV Poland reports.
Spanish medical experts warn about advanced breast cancer after COVID-19 slowdown
Spain’s focus on handling the COVID-19 pandemic has overshadowed other vital healthcare fields. Medical professionals warn that an increasing number of patients are now only accessing treatment when the cancer has already spread.
Latvia’s president contracts COVID despite being vaccinated
Latvian President Egils Levits has contracted COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated, his chief of staff said Thursday (14 October), as the Baltic country reported a new record for daily coronavirus cases.
Italian patients with advanced breast cancer in search of information
Despite efforts to raise awareness by the authorities, patients with metastatic breast cancer in Italy are still struggling to understand what options they have and often lose precious time trying to identify the latest available treatments.
MEPs call for the EU pharma strategy to address medicine shortages
MEPs adopted a draft report on Tuesday (12 October) aimed at strengthening the EU's pharmaceutical strategy to ensure every patient has reliable and timely access to medicines, as shortages have been increasing since 2000. EURACTIV France reports.
Europe airlines call for US date for flight resumption
Europe’s airlines on Wednesday (13 October) urged the US authorities to provide a date for the reopening of its borders to vaccinated passengers and for an agreed list of recognised vaccines. US President Joe Biden announced last month that the...
Germany frontrunner for metastatic breast cancer drug approvals, with some hiccups
While the German healthcare system is at Europe's forefront in terms of making drugs available for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, problems still arise as some important drugs have been withdrawn from the market.
Europabio: Life science needs future-proof approach to become innovation ‘powerhouse’
The EU's policy priorities are a once-in-a-generation change to the regulatory framework offering both the industrial biotech and healthcare sectors an opportunity to set a direction for the next decades, says the newly appointed chairman of EuropaBio.
The future of biotech in Europe
A fairly recent but already fast-growing industry, the biotech sector seeks to claim a role in Europe as a catalyst for growth in the aftermath of the COVID-crisis.