The global generic medicines industry supplies most of the world’s antibiotic medicine and is aware of the surge in demand of these products that is leading to shortages. The surge is driven by an unusually high rate of respiratory conditions and infections that are occurring as we exit the most acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic and, in many countries, an unusually high rate of respiratory conditions and infections among children.
To improve access to medicines, we need European-wide legal guidance on medicines procurement covering security of supply, MEAT criteria and biosimilar competition.
Biosimilar medicines deliver access for patients suffering from serious and debilitating conditions such as cancer, auto immune diseases, and diabetes. The benefits of using biosimilar medicines center on increasing the number of patients treated, leading to better health, and further advantages to health systems and healthcare professionals.
Medicines for Europe members are major suppliers of medicines for health crises. During the COVID pandemic, up to 90% of medicines needed in intensive care units were off-patent medicines and our members have donated over 1200 truckloads of medicines to help Ukraine.
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Over the last two years, major crises have had dramatic impacts on patient population health across Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the provision of primary care, cancer screening and treatment, care continuity, and elective surgery, impacting health outcomes of patients across Europe. The 2022 Health at a Glance Report, examined the key challenges to develop stronger, more resilient health systems following the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The added value of innovating on existing medicines may be in finding a new indication, by treating a different disease with the same medicine or treating a specific sub-population, improving efficacy of the treatment, being easier to tolerate, or improving overall adherence.
Medicines have a unique value to public health and society at large. They are vital for our wellbeing, either to manage serious conditions such as cancer, diabetes, bacterial infections, cardiovascular diseases, auto-immune conditions, or to prevent illness and manage symptoms that allow everyone to carry on with their lives.
Inflation across Europe has risen beyond 10%. This increases the manufacturing costs of essential, off patent medicines, which account for 70% of those dispensed in Europe. These medicines treat serious, debilitating conditions such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and auto-immune conditions.
The EU plans to update its 20-year-old pharmaceutical legislation early next year to improve access to medicines and to make innovation more affordable. The introduction of biosimilar medicines was one of the pioneering and most successful reforms of the previous legislation in 2004. Now we need to update the legislation to make it fit for the future. Open