Brussels, 15/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - Access to innovative medicines, improving foodstuffs and tackling the problem of antimicrobial resistance, will be at the heart of the informal Health Ministers' meeting on Monday 18 April. This event will provide the Dutch Presidency with an opportunity to present the EU 28 with the results from the conferences on these themes, which were organised in February and March in Amsterdam.
The main subject at the meeting will be antimicrobial resistance and the fact that the European action plan (COM (2011) 748) expires at the end of 2016. It should be pointed out that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) describes the ability of a microorganism to resist antimicrobial treatments to which it was previously sensitive. Every year, this phenomenon causes around 25,000 deaths in the EU. Health Ministers are expected to focus their work on the conclusions from the conference organised on 10 February in Amsterdam. This called for a new "single health" concept-based action plan and coordinated action in the health, environment, agriculture and stock breeding domains. The conclusions also highlighted the need to develop a new European policy on research and development (R&D) and orientate investment towards research into new antibiotics, alternatives (such as vaccines) and diagnostics, as well as the cautious use of existing and new antibiotics. The conclusions also called for the separation of investment costs from sales and antibiotics.
Another subject on the agenda included the improvement of foodstuffs. During a conference on this theme on 22 February, the Dutch Minister for Health, Well-Being and Sport, Edith Schippers, said "If we don't act now, in a few years time, Europe will have another 11 million patients with diabetes. This is more than the population in either Portugal or Belgium". During this event, the representatives from 22 member states (as well as Norway and Switzerland), the Commission, the food industry, sales sector and NGOs made a commitment to developing healthier foodstuffs by way of a gradual reduction in salt, sugar and trans-fatty acids contained in these foods. The conclusions indicate that, "this means a public-private partnership between experts from member states and representatives from the food industry, patients' associations and consumer organisations". This meeting will also provide an opportunity for ministers to call on the Commission to report back on the follow-up it intends to carry out on its report on trans-fatty acids, which recommended the setting out of thresholds (see EUROPE 11445).
Finally, the third and final subject focuses on access to innovative medicines. The results from the conference, which brought together experts and policy decision-makers from throughout the chain for authorising, evaluating and setting out prices and reimbursements, will also be discussed. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)