Southern Mediterranean countries have formed a common front against the pharmaceutical industry. The respective Maltese, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek and Cypriot ministers for health made a commitment on Monday 8 May to cooperate more closely to improve access and affordability of medicines and to help their patients and health systems.
The meeting was organised on the initiative of Malta and Italy and based on the observation that the EU pharmaceutical sector is constantly evolving due to scientific developments and innovation, while demographic changes, progress in the health field and socio-economic developments also influence patients’ needs and the way the public health systems operate. The high prices of certain novel medicines also create proportionate charges for the member states’ health systems.
In this context, the six ministers, backed by Ireland and Romania, argued that new approaches, including those that promote voluntary cooperation between countries, should be sought to ensure that the pharmaceutical industry really does operate to the benefit of patients. During the meeting, health ministers also discussed how to strengthen cooperation when negotiating better prices for medicines and medical products
This kind of cooperation already exists between Benelux countries and Austria, as well as the Visegrad countries. (Original version kn French by Sophie Petitjean)