Pharmaceutical strategy during and beyond Czech presidency

The European Commission is leading talks on a waiver of intellectual property (IP) rights on COVID vaccines and treatments. However, critics from the pharmaceutical industry argue that changes to the current IP system could jeopardise research and development in their sector.

Access to oncology care in Europe is often accompanied by inequalities which can be tackled by better data collection and usage, Czech experts say. EURACTIV.cz reports.

Improving screening tools and strengthening the incentive system for orphan drugs are among the main suggestions for overhauling the European legislation on rare diseases, a topic included in the health priorities of the forthcoming Czech presidency of the EU.

War, COVID-19 pandemic and vulnerability of supply chains are pushing the EU to be more resilient and self-sufficient in pharmaceutics production. The revision of existing legislation offers the possibility to unlock investments and research in this area.

As the EU seeks to ensure that patients across all its countries have access to modern, affordable medicines in sufficient quantities, experts warn that the current system is financially unsustainable and call for a change.

The Czech Presidency of the EU Council said it will cooperate with forthcoming Council presidencies to create an EU action plan for rare diseases.

Stakeholders expressed concern that the European Health Data Space (EDHS), aimed at reforming the sharing of health data across hospitals around the EU, will launch as planned in 2025 due to a large number of issues still to be addressed.

The Czech reimbursement mechanism for rare diseases has been applauded for involving patient organisations in its decision-making processes - however, only one drug has completed the approval process so far.

Some EU countries such as Czechia are already making 'secondary use' of health data, ahead of the set-up of the new EU-wide framework to boost the digitalisation of the sector.

The EU pharmaceutical market's problems 'cannot be solved with the stroke of a pen in Brussels', drug manufacturers warned, emphasising that new European pharma rules must not neglect patent protection.

The European Commission argues that the upcoming pharmaceutical revision must not favour incentives to industry over the availability of medicines, while drug manufacturers warn that in pharmaceutical research and development, Europe is already lagging behind major global competitors, the United States and China.