The European Consumers’ Organisation (BEUC) is concerned about an option that the European Commission may include in its review of the EU pharmaceutical strategy: transferable exclusivity vouchers.
In order to encourage the production of medicines with societal benefits, but for which the envisaged market is limited (such as new generation antibiotics), the impact assessment would indicate, according to BEUC, that the Commission is considering offering transferable exclusivity vouchers to pharmaceutical companies.
These vouchers would be offered to companies that agree to develop medicines for which there is little commercial interest. They could be used by firms to extend market exclusivity on a product for which they already have a patent or sold to other companies, Sébastien Pant, the organisation’s senior communications officer, told EUROPE on Monday 14 November.
In his view, the measure could have various negative impacts.
In essence, the extension of the legal monopoly on certain medicines would increase costs for health budgets. This could lead to difficulties in reimbursement of other medicines by public authorities.
This extension of market exclusivity could affect competition by delaying the development of medicines such as generics, which are usually developed after the expiry of the patent protection period. Moreover, the measure could blur the visibility of these deadlines, the organisation believes.
BEUC also states that vouchers could stifle innovation, as companies would rather extend their market monopoly to more profitable medicines than develop new ones.
The organisation makes several recommendations, said Ancella Santos, a health policy expert at BEUC.
On the one hand, the organisation calls for a review of the incentives of the current intellectual property system.
On the other hand, the development of medicines could be supported by European public funding, in particular via HERA or under Horizon Europe. Such funding could be conditional on a requirement to share intellectual property rights or a commitment to affordable prices.
BEUC believes that public procurement or innovative payment methods could contribute to the accessibility of medicines. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)