In Pandemic, citizens and politicians realized that European countries should jointly take care of health safety, and this is impossible without providing undisturbed access to all necessary medicines. Further events, this time geopolitical: Russian aggression on Ukraine, and now a new US administration policy, has increased pressure on drug safety. How does Europe deal with this challenge during the Polish presidency in the European Union Council?
– It is true that the importance of health has absolutely increased as a result of Covid, and recent events in geopolitics only strengthened it. Europe is doing quite well in this situation. In the Polish presidency, the issue of citizens’ health was aptly recognized as a key security component, thanks to which many actions were taken to ensure it, both in short-term and medium-term and long-term perspective – says Phil Krzyzek.
EU pharmaceutical package: A chance to win the war after losing the battle
An experienced expert and manager specifies that a lot of good has happened in the area of security (certainty) supply chains – The industry itself has introduced many significant changes here to improve safety. However, to ensure medium and long-term safety, activities were intensified, including to increase access to innovations necessary to create and develop the future of the future.
They have a key role in the current situation to play EU regulations. – All of Europe is looking at the pharmaceutical package – a very complex instrument covering the entire chain of pharmaceutical products, from research and development, through approval, refund, production, distribution. I think that significant progress has been made in this field. And of course this is important because if we look at the current state of innovation compared to other parts of the world, such as China and the USA, the situation is critical: we are already losing in many strategic areas today – notes the head of the Infarma Association. Gives specific numbers:
- Over the past 10 years, there has been a 38 % increase in the number of clinical trials around the world, and Europe’s share in this area has decreased by half
- If we look at expenses for research and development, increases that we have observed in Europe, remain behind the United States and much behind China
- We see that this is beginning to affect the number of new units working on new drugs and therapies at molecular level from Europe compared to China
- The last survey among innovative companies in Europe, in which their intentions related to investing capital as well as research and development were assessed, indicated the high risk that in the next four years we will witness a 80 % reduction in capital investments and a 50 % reduction in expenses for research and development-these research and investments will go to the USA mainly; The current economic situation is raising this risk.
– So we know that we are losing this battle, and the pharmaceutical package is of course an opportunity to look at the causes and indicate effective solutions. We also know that only such activities will increase access to medicines – and I am talking about physical access, but also access in the economic sense, i.e. that these drugs and therapies should be in the financial range of people. We also need to consider the importance of innovation for the future. There are many very positive things in the pharmaceutical package, such as an attempt to improve and coordinate processes, such as reimbursement regulations. The only key area that we need to quickly finalize is the medical data protection regulation – comments Phil Krzyzek.
Pharmaceutical package: EU activities in the area of health
Emphasizes that Actions in all these areas are “really urgent”. It proves that it is absolutely possible to create grounds for Europe regaining the position of a leader in the area of innovation in natural sciences – historically it has always been. – The pharmaceutical package will dictate what will happen in industry in Europe in the coming decades. So I think, although we will not reverse these statistics from day to day, we can absolutely create the appropriate foundations for the dynamic development of innovation in Europe and recovering positions. We have all potential for this – says Phil Krzyzek. He admits that – despite so many reservations and a difficult current situation – he remains a moderate optimist here.
We strongly encourage you to watch and listen to the entire interview conducted by Zbigniew Bartus.
