Recent shortages of essential antibiotics in Europe have renewed the urgency to reform the pricing and industrial infrastructure for these essential medicines. The off-patent sector manufactures and supplies most antibiotics in Europe needed to control bacterial infections. Pricing policies for these antibiotics must urgently be reviewed so that they remain viable to produce and supply.
The purpose of Medicines for Europe members is to improve access to medicines and provide a better availability and supply security for European patients. However, the current situation is challenging our ability to fulfil this objective.
The Hungarian Permanent Representation to the European Union hosted the event “Sustainable ways to finance innovation” organised in collaboration with the Slovak Presidency of the Visegrad 4 Group, the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands and Medicines for Europe
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.