Personalised drugs

Health 20-10-2021

Opioid use: “more controlled” in Europe than in the US

Est. 5min

The consumption of opioid painkillers increased in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Is this enough to signal the risk of an opioid crisis similar to the one in the United States? Not really, experts say.

Health 08-12-2020

MEP: Parliament will pressure Commission to focus on nanomedicines

Est. 3min

The European Parliament will put pressure on the Commission and the member states to provide the necessary regulatory framework for nanomedicines in order to better make use of their potential for patients, EU lawmaker Pietro Fiocchi told EURACTIV in an interview.

MEP: Need for an EU-wide cancer plan to ensure long-term pharma innovation

Est. 5min

The creation of an EU cancer plan will improve EU citizens’ medical needs and access but will also simultaneously help bring innovations to the market, through enhanced collaboration among stakeholders, according to Belgian MEP Lieve Wierinck.

Health 10-10-2018

New drugs: how much are governments paying for innovation?

Est. 7min

The European healthcare sector is divided over the “actual value” EU governments pay for the authorised and partly public-funded novel drugs, compared to medicines already on the market.

Health 24-11-2017

Athens brings its dispute with pharma industry to the EU Council

Est. 3min

The next EU Health Council on 8 December will discuss the “lack of drug availability in Greece”, amid mounting tensions between the leftist government in Athens and the pharmaceutical companies.

Health 02-11-2017

Pharmaceutical company gives free access to drug after clash with Greek government

Est. 2min

Following a clash with the Greek government over its decision to withdraw a cancer drug from the market, ROCHE, a Swiss multinational company, ultimately decided to make the drug available to patients for free.

Health 31-10-2017

Greek health minister fumes at pharmaceutical company after drug withdrawal

Est. 3min

The Greek ministry of health reacted strongly to the decision of a pharmaceutical company to withdraw a drug from the market for “viability” reasons, saying it will not accept any blackmail.

Health 30-10-2017

Pharmaceutical company withdraws oncology drug from Greek market

Est. 3min

A multinational pharmaceutical company has decided to withdraw an innovative oncology medicine from the Greek market, claiming that its price has fallen more than 50% because of the government’s regulatory interventions in the pharma area, EURACTIV.com has learnt.

Health 25-10-2017

Greek government on collision course with pharmaceutical companies over innovative drugs

Est. 4min

Several pharmaceutical companies in Greece have threatened to stop supplying the market with innovative drugs and said they could even withdraw existing drugs as a result of an obligatory “discount” imposed by the Greek government and applied retroactively.

Health 12-10-2017

Patients: ‘Think carefully’ before questioning orphan drugs’ incentives

Est. 6min

Organisations of patients with rare diseases have warned EU policymakers to “think carefully” before reviewing the incentives in the orphan drugs regulation, claiming that the pharma industry should not be discouraged from investing in new therapies.

Health 10-10-2017

Andriukaitis: Supporting drug innovation is ‘the only way’

Est. 8min

Backing innovation in the pharmaceutical market and developing new evidence-based economic models is the only way forward for future healthcare, according to EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis.

Health 10-10-2017

Pharma boss: Targeting drugs won’t make healthcare systems more sustainable

Est. 9min

“Salami-slicing” the cost of medicines, which represent almost one-fifth of health system budgets and are subject to rigorous value assessments, won’t make healthcare systems more sustainable in the future, Nathalie Moll told EURACTIV.com in an interview.

Clinical trials 03-05-2017

Allowing patients to choose could save billions

Est. 4min

The Commission’s recent musings on the social dimension of Europe touches on common drug pricing among member states. But it misses out on solutions for faster access to medicine, Fred Roeder.

Health 07-04-2017

IMI chief: ‘We need to learn how to share data in a safe and ethical manner’

Est. 7min

Ethicists, humanists, lawyers and patients should come together to understand the risk of data in healthcare and whether patients are willing to take that risk, Pierre Meulien told EURACTIV.com.

Health 06-04-2017

Europe’s biotechnology potential hindered by investment fears

Est. 6min

In terms of pure biotechnology, Europe has embraced innovation. However, it cannot compete with the US yet because it cannot drive private investment in the field, as well as open up the market to new products, a pharmaceutical executive told EURACTIV.com in Lyon.

Health 15-03-2017

Commission sees biotech as ‘integral part’ of EU healthcare

Est. 6min

Biotechnology-derived medicinal products are fully part of EU healthcare but there are still many unknowns which call for adequate controls, the European Commission told EURACTIV.

Health 08-03-2017

Commission’s digital health strategy will help EU patients

Est. 8min

A new European Commission task force aimed at further developing the digital strategy in health will significantly help Europe’s healthcare systems and thus their patients, writes Denis Horgan.

Health 13-02-2017

Commission must bring healthcare to the fore

Est. 6min

Given that the current European Commission has not prioritised healthcare, it looks as though it is up to the European Parliament to push the agenda, writes Denis Horgan.

Health 09-12-2016

Health minister: Drugs pricing will top Malta’s EU presidency

Est. 8min

The Maltese EU presidency will seek more transparency in the way pharmaceutical companies negotiate with member states on medicines’ pricing, Health Minister Chris Fearne said in an interview with EURACTIV.

Health 21-10-2016

Andriukaitis: Health Technology Assessment will make EU healthcare ‘sustainable’

Est. 5min

EXCLUSIVE / National healthcare systems should embrace the digital era and use Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to become truly sustainable and cost-effective, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis told EURACTIV.com in an interview.

Health 01-08-2016

EU drugs agency to unveil results on ‘early medicines’ project this week

Est. 5min

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will this week publish the much-awaited results of a pilot project on the early marketing authorisation of drugs, EURACTIV has learnt.

Health 26-07-2016

Pharma expert: new ‘value added medicines’ offer cheaper, customised treatment

Est. 9min

A new breed of drugs, called “value added medicines”, could help patients improve their everyday life while in treatment, without increasing healthcare budgets, Christoph Stoller said in an interview with EURACTIV.com

Health 14-06-2016

Medical marijuana becomes legal in Macedonia

Est. 1min

Marijuana-derived medicines became legal on Monday (13 June) in Macedonia, which joined over a dozen European countries that have already authorised the products for certain patients.

Health 13-06-2016

EU drugs chief: ‘US now looks to Europe on decriminalisation’

Est. 6min

The internet provides a vast marketplace for new dangerous substances and drug prevention authorities risk being left in the wake of dealers and distributors, warned the head of the EMCDDA, Alexis Goosdeel. EURACTIV Germany reports.