Over 100 participants will explore different ways and opportunities to ensure universal access to healthcare, together with members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and healthcare stakeholders. We have jointly agreed that this issue should be a priority on the European political agenda.
“We have now a great opportunity to accelerate our work to date through the Patient Access Partnership and the Riga Roadmap, by also collaborating on the actions needed now to ensure the sustainable development goal on universal access becomes reality by 2030”. Nicola Bedlington, EPF Secretary General.
“Exchange of information and collaboration among the different stakeholders is indispensable to improve access to healthcare. The treatments must not only be available, they also have to be affordable. The annual meetings among the different actors in healthcare are a first step to foster dialogue in order to guarantee high quality health services for everybody”. Menno Aarnout, AIM Executive Director.
“The access to medicines debate is a social justice issue in Europe today. We need a comprehensive dialogue on all issues with a balanced involvement of all stakeholders”. Yannis Natsis, EPHA Policy Coordinator for Universal Access & Affordable medicines.
Better access to medicines leads to better health. For this reason, the EU needs to stimulate competition in pharmaceutical markets post-patent where generic and biosimilar medicines have demonstrated their ability to massively increase access to medicines without raising the overall treatment costs.
Speaking ahead of the event, Adrian van den Hoven, Medicines for Europe Director General, commented that “cooperation among stakeholders is key to improve access to healthcare in Europe. This annual gathering is a great opportunity to build a partnership with stakeholders to deliver access to high quality healthcare, including medicines to patients, while ensuring the sustainability of our systems”.
Medicines for Europe, EPF, EPHA and AIM are looking forward to further progress and milestones promoting better access for better health and to meeting in 2017 for the 4th Edition.
The European Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association is now Medicines for Europe Better access. Better health. Generic medicines are now the cornerstone of European healthcare, the Biosimilar medicines sector is developing rapidly, and the need and opportunity for Value Added medicines will further transform healthcare. Our industries supply the majority of Europe’s prescription medicines which is estimated to grow from the current 56% to 75% in volume over the next 5 years, as the demand for access to high quality medicines for European patients has never been greater. The repositioning of our association as Medicines for Europe aims to drive greater healthcare efficiency through better health outcomes while providing solutions for the sustainability of European healthcare systems facing increased demographic demands on healthcare services.
“Medicines for Europe Better access. Better health reflects our industries’ purpose and strategic objectives,” said Medicines for Europe President Jacek Glinka. “As an organisation we have been through an incredible journey responding to the changes that have taken place in the pharmaceutical industry and European healthcare environment. I invite stakeholders and policy-makers to engage with us to deliver access to high quality medicines for all European patients.”
Adrian van den Hoven, Medicines for Europe Director General, added: “Medicines for Europe is a great opportunity to build on the EGA’s established reputation for partnership with stakeholders and authorities to deliver access to high quality medicines for patients, its commitment to the highest levels of quality, and to bringing even more value to pharmaceuticals while bridging the sustainability of healthcare with a competitive pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.”
After a long dry spell, the pharmaceutical research industry has brought to market a spate of innovative treatments that can extend life and often have fewer side effects than older treatments. But these medicines are not affordable to most of the people who need them. Recent treatments for hepatitis C and cancer – both widespread conditions globally – can cost from $50,000 annually to well over $150,000.
Brussels – The European Generic and Biosimilar medicines Association (EGA) announced today the launch of the European Value Added medicines (EVA) group, a new sector group of the EGA.
“EVA will be the leading voice of a broad-multi-stakeholder coalition supporting value-added medicines in Europe, engaging with patients and healthcare professionals in response to their needs and with payers to increase access to high quality and sustainable innovation for patients across Europe and worldwide,” said Adrian van den Hoven, EGA Director General.
Value-added medicines are medicines based on known molecules which deliver significant improvements for patients, payers and/or health care professionals. For example, the added value may be created thanks to better health outcomes, better quality of life, improved tolerability, better adherence, less dosing frequency, reduction of medical errors or any other innovative solution addressing unmet needs for key stakeholders.
The new European Added Value medicines group will be a partner for healthcare systems to improve the efficiency of healthcare and access to sustainable pharmaceutical innovation in Europe. This group will be open to EGA and to non-EGA members active in this field.
About the EGA (European Generic and Biosimilar medicines Association)
The EGA represents the European generic, biosimilar and value-added medicines industries, which provide high-quality cost-competitive medicines to millions of European patients. Companies represented within the EGA provide over 160,000 skilled, high value direct jobs in Europe. Generic medicines save EU patients and healthcare systems over €40 billion each year and account for 55% of all dispensed medicines but for only 21% of the pharmaceutical expenditure in Europe. The European generic, biosimilar and value-added medicines industries’ vision is to provide sustainable access to high quality medicines for all European patients, based on 5 important pillars: patients, quality, value, sustainability and partnership. For more information please follow EGA at www.egagenerics.com and on Twitter @egagenerics and @ebgbiosimilars.