EU needs to catch up with US in research and development, lobby warns

Les Entreprises du médicament en France (Leem), an association of French pharmaceutical companies, unveiled its manifesto on Friday (May 17) ahead of June’s EU elections, with the focus on investing in research and development (R&D) in Europe to avoid falling behind the United States.

In 2024, 22% of new treatments worldwide will come from Europe, and 47% from the United States. This is “a complete reversal of the situation from 25 years ago”, Leem warned in the manifesto.

The main cause is the lack of funding for innovation. Between 1990 and 2019, R&D investment was multiplied by 4.9 in Europe and by 9.5 in the United States, according to data from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (Efpia).

As a result, by 2022, R&D investment in the US will have exceeded that in Europe by €25 billion, compared with just 2 billion in the early 2000s.

Leem President Thierry Hulot sounded the alarm.

“Against a backdrop of heightened global competition for healthcare investment, Europe absolutely must catch up with the United States and China if it is to regain its position as a leader in innovation”.

In addition to the lack of funding, Leem pointed out that excessive taxation “penalises Europe’s attractiveness for industrial investment”, particularly in France.

The manifesto also warned of the brain drain from Europe to the US. “Training and cultivating talent, and then encouraging these highly qualified professionals to stay within the European Union, are priorities”.

The EU’s lag in R&D is not without consequences for patients, who have fewer opportunities to take part in clinical trials and face longer delays in accessing innovative medicines, the manifesto said.

95 billion euros for innovation

The Council of the EU has recognised healthcare as one of the four critical sectors for achieving Europe’s strategic autonomy, along with energy, digital technology, and food, Leem pointed out.

In January 2021, the EU launched the Horizons Europe programme. With a budget of €95.5 billion for 2021-2027, the programme is designed to fund innovation-related projects in member countries.

It comprises four key areas: science, industrial competitiveness, innovation, and strengthening the European Research Area.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted Europe’s need for effective research and innovation programmes and led to the creation of a European biomedical research agency.

Public investment in healthcare research in the US will total 40 billion euros by 2021, compared with 8.4 billion euros a year in the EU.

With the EU lagging behind, Leem called for “the development of a European industrial strategy for healthcare, which supports Europe’s competitiveness, advances the Green Deal and decarbonisation, and incorporates a health security perspective”.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]

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