Brussels, 12/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - Following a method which has already proved safe in the past, the European Commission has recently set up a high level group charged with investigating different aspects of health and medicine policy. The initiative comes from Commissioners Erkki Liikanen (Business and the Information Society) and David Byrne (Health and Consumer Protection). This group, which must meet three times over the course of this year, should suggest solutions to different problems. Mr Liikanen hoped that the approach would not necessarily lead to legislative intervention.
The group must address: - speeding up of procedures of authorisation for release onto the market (EUROPE recalls that this issue is already dealt with in the framework of the draft revision of pharmaceutical legislation: see 12 March bulletin, p.16); - additional barriers to release onto the market new medicines that the member states bring about by using their control of public health expenditure (an issue which is dear to the industry but which does not directly come under the EU's powers: Ed.); - the protection of intellectual property at community and international levels; - problems related to the exhaustion of rights conferred by the trademark; - legal guarantees to add, within the framework of enlargement, for the respect of complementary protection certificates (the issue should be settled within the framework of negotiations through a transitional waiver to the free movement of medicines: Ed.); - the implementation and safeguarding of the TRIP' agreement; - support for innovation through the improvement of the protection of data (already covered in principle by the revision of pharmaceutical legislation; Ed.); - support for the development of paediatric moulds; - making rules concerning direct patient information more flexible; - improved market access for the new active principles (envisaged in the framework of the revision of pharmaceutical legislation through an extension of the centralised procedure: Ed.); - launching a discussion at European level on the structural reform of health and social security systems; - support for research and networking centres of excellence; - reduction of the administrative and legal burden which falls on companies.
In addition to Mr Liikanen and Mr Byrne, the group comprises: Ulla Schmidt, German Minister for Health; Philip Hunt, British Minister for Health; Lars Rekke, Swedish Minister for Industry; José Boquinhas, Portuguese Secretary of State for Health; Angela Coulter (Picker Institute); Jean-François Dehecq (Sanofi-Synthelabo), president of EFPIA; Andrew Kay (APS Berk), president of the European Association for the Manufacture of Generic Medicinal Products (EGA); Alessandro Banchi (Boehringer Ingelheim), Association for the European Industry of self-medication (AESGP); Chris Viehbacher (GlaxoSmithKline); Ueli Müller, president of the International Association of mutualities.