Brussels, 03/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - What work does the European Parliament have cut out for it in the years to come in vital areas like healthcare for all, the ageing population and how the elderly will impact on healthcare, the pharma package unveiled by the Vice-President of the European Commission with responsibility for industrial policy Günter Verheugen shortly before the recent European elections, the directive on providing information for patients online, medicine counterfeiting and the directive on patients' rights to treatment in other countries? What is the future of the EU pharma industry and its relative strength vis-à-vis the United States and Japan? MEP Françoise Grossetête (EPP, France) and the chair of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), Arthur J. Higgins (who is also Chairman of the BAYER Health Care Executive Committee), set out their vision for the future at a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday 3 November 2009.
The counterfeiting of medicines is done by organised crime and the mafia but is spreading in Europe for obvious financial reasons, along with the mushrooming of small laboratories manufacturing illicit medicines, explained Françoise Grossetête. This leads to healthcare problems for patients, particularly when it comes to medicines for serious illnesses. The World Health Organisation estimates that this type of mafia-controlled organised crime generates an annual turnover of some €45 billion, the equivalent of 10% of global pharma turnover, added Grossetête, arguing that the traceability of medicines from the start of the manufacturing process to the finish is required for all medicines. She called for the pharmaceutical industry to explain how traceability can be brought in, calling for extremely tight legislation in this regard. She said that the way to solve the problem was to introduce an ID card for medicines to help the industry monitor counterfeit medicines on a single database and remove mafia counterfeiting circuits. This is a type of crime that affects patients' health because they have a personal relationship with medicines and with the pharmaceutical industry that manufactures them and have to be able to trust the medicine they are taking, added Françoise Grossetête.
Arthur J. Higgins said technology is already available to monitor the manufacturing process for medicines from start to finish, giving the example of the pilot project launched recently by a Swedish committee on medicine counterfeiting. The project, known as APOTEKET, should help the pharma industry clamp down on counterfeit medicines. Higgins said that patients' trust in the industry was crucial, which is why the industry had to provide key information about medicines in a clear and transparent manner. Higgins said the pharma industry did not want to become an internet scapegoat and issued a strong warning against selling medicines online, describing it as a real and growing threat to patients, who don't know exactly what it is they are getting through the post.
Why ban medicine re-packaging? Françoise Grossetête explained the importance of ensuring medicine packaging and boxes have not been opened, unless the pharma industry has good reason to do so. She said that automatic controls are needed over the traceability of medicines. Arthur Higgins said that a ban on re-packaging medicines should not hold back progress in other areas.
Speaking about patient mobility and patients' right to get healthcare in other countries, Grossetête said much greater fairness and justice had to be introduced for European patients. The new EU directive includes measures set out in recent European Court of Justice rulings and she said the EP did not want to go further than these measures. She hoped that in December 2009, the EU Council of Ministers would agree to the various amendments tabled by the EP so that talks could begin on the second reading. She added that the Spanish Presidency of the EU would not help much here but the EP would be doing all it could to get things moving.
Françoise Grossetête discussed the recent EP resolution on the ageing population in Europe. She said that ageing was a very good thing because it proved that healthcare systems in Europe have improved, but age-related illnesses had to be covered, like neurodegenerative diseases. The EP has therefore asked the European Commission to publish a report on Alzheimer's. Arthur Higgins focussed on the need for Europeans to get rapid and fair access to safe and equitable medicines, on the importance
of achieving sustainable, modern healthcare systems and pursuing innovation and progress in medicine. He said that Europe wants to lead the pharmaceutical industry in the world. He explained that EFPIA represents more than 650,000 employees, 117,000 of whom are scientists. It also represents some 19% of R&D investment at EU level. Higgins urged member states and the Commission to speed up the process of adopting the new pharma package, setting out the industry's wishlist, namely: 1) for things to be planned with healthcare staff to avoid waste and ensure more active prevention of illness; 2) increased competition on the generic medicines market; 3) to work with governments in seeking investment; and 4) more rapid access to prescription-free medicines. He added that EFPIA wanted a strong industrial base in Europe and in return, wanted the EP and the member states to recognise the importance of innovation. (G. B./transl.fl)