Von der Leyen announces Critical Medicines Act to address medicine shortages

Ursula von der Leyen’s speech in the hemicycle weak on health, tells a different story when it comes to the political guidelines, especially concerning medicine shortages.

The European Commission’s political guidelines for 2024-2029 state that Europe has to become more resilient and less dependent on non-EU supplies, it singles out the link between health and the pharmaceutical sector as a key area requiring urgent action.

“The EU has been confronted with severe shortages of medical devices and medicines,” states the report. “To remedy this we will propose a Critical Medicines Act to reduce dependencies relating to critical medicines and ingredients, particularly where there are only a few supplying manufacturers.”

The idea of an act was a favoured project of the  Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union, and will be welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister and possible future European Health Commissioner Frank Vandenbroucke. 

“The next European Commission must do more to ensure that industry’s supply chains are more robust and diversified,” said Senior Health Policy officer at the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), Ancel la Santos Quintano.

“We also expect the Commission to pay close attention to the outcome so it leads to more affordable medicines.”

The only reference to the European Health Union also places emphasis on supply chain issues.

Sustainable prosperity and competitiveness

Competitiveness is a major focus, with the European Green Deal being transformed into the Clean Industrial Deal. More concrete proposals include a dedicated European Competitiveness Fund and a simpler and faster support for Important Projects of Common Interest (IPCEIs). 

Genomics receives a shoutout as a frontier technology, the Commission envisages a  European Biotech Act in 2025, which will be  part of a wider Strategy for European Life Sciences. 

Secretary General of the European Association of Research & Technology Organisations (EARTO) Muriel Attané, welcomes von der Leyen’s commitment to supporting, “the cutting edge between emerging science, technology and industry, the nexus that will make progress faster and more transformative.” Her response is simple, “Let’s work together to make this happen. EARTO is already in the starting blocks.”

Health security

Health security features in two different ways. We are promised a European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers, in the first 100 days of the mandate. 

HERA (Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority) is asked to develop a  new strategy to support medical countermeasures, including the ability to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. 

Prevention

There is not a single mention of tobacco, alcohol or nutrition – other than lauding Europe as having “the healthiest and highest quality food in the world.”

“We support stepping up work on health prevention and the fight against cardiovascular diseases,” said Santos Quintano. BEUC underlines the importance of diet, “Like with cancer risk, unhealthy diets are top contributors to heart diseases and prioritising easy and affordable access to healthy food for consumers should be a priority for the next Commission – starting with the publication of the long-awaited legislative proposal for an EU front-of-pack label to help consumers spot the healthier food options in the shop.”

Action plans

Member of the European parliament Peter Liese, who is the European Peoples Party’s coordinator for the Parliament’s environmental and public health committee, welcomed the concrete commitments on the health sector, “[the Commission] will not only fully implement the Cancer Action Plan, but also present action plans for cardiovascular diseases and mental health.”

A note of caution

Von der Leyen’s foreword to the guidelines, however, contains an important caveat, the guidelines “are not an exhaustive work programme.” Nevertheless, many in the health community will see the absence of health headlines as a further sign that it has been relegated to a secondary issue.

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]

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