Innovation in pharma
Commission’s ‘risky’ move to re-visit orphan drugs regulation
The European Commission is expected to present by the end of July an evaluation study on the pros and cons of the application of orphan and paediatric regulations, which deal with a niche segment of rare diseases that affect fewer than five in 10,000 people.
NGOs call for moratorium on controversial ‘gene drive organisms’
After over 78 environmental and agricultural organisations signing a letter this week calling for a moratorium on gene drive technology, EURACTIV took a closer look at the controversial technology to find out about what it is and the implications it holds.
Franco-German couple sets eyes on EU health sovereignty
A joint COVID-19 recovery proposal put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday (18 May) calls for a new European approach to health crises, aiming for greater EU sovereignty on medical products and pharmaceuticals.
Oxfam: COVID-19 vaccinations for vulnerable could cost fraction of top pharma’s yearly profits
Oxfam is urging governments and pharmaceutical companies to guarantee that vaccines, tests, and treatments will be patent-free and equitably distributed to all nations and people, ahead of the World Health Assembly next week.
Commission aims to bring back medicine production to Europe
The EU needs to focus on ways to bring the production of medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients back to Europe to avoid a future recurrence of shortages experienced during the COVID-19 crisis, the EU health boss Stella Kyriakides told MEPs on Tuesday (22 April).
Commission’s new Pharmaceutical Strategy wants to touch core issues
The European Commission is planning to re-open basically all files related to the pharmaceutical industry with its roadmap for a new Pharmaceutical Strategy, seen by EURACTIV.com.
‘This is personal’: Von der Leyen launches consultation on EU’s Cancer Plan
The President of the European Commission launched an EU-wide public consultation on Europe's Beating Cancer Plan on Tuesday (4 February), announcing an EU-wide "open health data space" in support of research, prevention and cure.
EU health sector ‘up to a decade’ behind others for digitalisation, Commission says
The EU health sector is in the middle of a defining moment but the sector is “up to a decade” behind other sectors in terms of digitalisation, Deputy Director-General for Health and Food Safety Martin Seychell told EURACTIV.com.
New EU Commission should take on rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases
The new European Commission should tackle "head-on" rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, the president of the European League Against Rheumatism (Eular) told EURACTIV in an interview, referring to chronic diseases that affect one-quarter of all Europeans, creating healthcare and social security costs.
EU cancer plan will succeed if the right priorities are identified, official says
The much-awaited EU cancer plan will first have to identify specific needs at national level, seek funding and then be closely monitored in order to be successful, a high-ranking EU official has told EURACTIV.com.
Healthy vaccines ecosystem: A tough equation to solve
In a fragmented EU market, the vaccines ecosystem is complex and in order for it to be “healthy” all relevant stakeholders should be taken into account, Professor Panos Kanavos, an associate professor at LSE, told EURACTIV.com.
Measles hit Zagreb as social media join fight against anti-vaccination
Seven people have been diagnosed with measles in Zagreb in the past two weeks, raising concerns that more cases of this highly contagious virus may occur in light of the rising anti-vaccination campaigns.
Better access to health innovation is Kyriakides’ top priority (and hardest task)
With increased powers, Health Commissioner-designate Stella Kyriakides is tasked with striking a difficult balance between making sure there is a steady supply of affordable medicines and ensuring that EU pharma industry remains a world leader in innovation.
New pharma boss: Next EU Commission should be clear on how to protect innovation
The next EU Commission should take a stronger position on innovation in the pharma sector, the new leader of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
EU should tackle health inequality with investments: MSD official
Every EU government should prioritise healthcare because only health citizens can be a driving force for economic growth, told EURACTIV Croatia Gabriele Grom, Vice President of MSD in Central Eastern Europe (CEE).
Pharma incentives reform is for the next Commission, EU official says
Stakeholders gathered in the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) reiterated their demands to reform the incentives for pharmaceutical innovation, making a set of recommendations to the European Commission during an event in Brussels on Monday (3 June).
AMR incentives could be next big EU opportunity, pharma boss says
Europe could become the first region worldwide to incentivise the fight anti-microbial resistance (AMR), Nathalie Moll, director general of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), told EURACTIV in an interview.
Katainen: Same level of priority for food and medicine in no-deal Brexit
Medicine supplies and food safety standards are both vital and the EU cannot prioritise one over the other in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Vice President of the Commission Jyrki Katainen said on Thursday (4 April).
Pharma industry urges EU leaders to ‘re-focus’ on patients post-Brexit
The EU pharma industry has prepared for a hard Brexit scenario but this is not enough as EU leaders need to take specific measures to ensure medical supplies after the UK departure, EU pharma chief Stefan Oschmann has said.
Report from two EU agencies confirms superbugs as a rising threat
No decrease in resistance to antibiotics has been reported in the latest study drawn up by the EU's top two public health authorities, which should be a cause for alarm, according to the bloc's health boss, Vytenis Andriukaitis.
EU pharma stakeholders take action to tackle fake medicines
A number of pharma stakeholders announced on 9 February the official launch of the European Medicines Verification System (EMVS), which will make use of new technologies to improve safety in the medicines’ supply chain against fake products.
Pharma industry raises the alarm about stockpiling of generic drugs
The industry of innovative medicines is concerned with a recent vote in the European Parliament on the stockpiling of generic drugs, saying that it causes uncertainty over innovation in the pharmaceutical field.
New anti-microbial resistance business models are off the table, Romanian health minister says
Romania's EU Presidency will not look into new business models to tackle anti-microbial resistance (AMR), Romanian Health Minister Sorina Pintea told EURACTIV.com in an interview.