Limiting competition in medicines is not an option

EU pharmaceutical legislation is undergoing a major reform which is an opportunity to increase people’s access to medicines, but worryingly some right-leaning political groups want to give even more power to the pharma industry, writes Monique Goyens, Director General of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).

Having access to medicines is a crucial part of staying healthy. We are lucky in Europe to benefit from being richer societies with a social model that can afford many medicines. But that trend is starting to stall.

The pressure that our public health systems are under to pay for medicines is steadily increasing. Tax revenue is not increasing at the same rate as the cost of all the medicines we need. As a result, health systems are struggling to reimburse newer forms of treatment because of the price tag the developer pharma company charges.

EU pharma legislation opportunity

To tackle high medicine prices, the Commission, in its proposal to review the pharma legislation, wants to better align the exclusivity period during which a pharma company enjoys a monopoly on its product with the fulfilment of certain societal objectives. The rationale is that by shortening this exclusivity period for some medicines, generic medicine developers would be able to enter the market sooner and offer the same medicine at considerably lower prices.

The European Commission estimates that reducing the protection period for new medicines by two years would save health payers €1.13 billion annually. Under its proposal, developer companies would lose these two years of exclusivity for a new product, unless they fulfil certain conditions.

But some centre-right MEPs in the European Parliament are falling for the pharma industry’s lobbying. They are proposing to, in fact, considerably extend exclusivity periods, with one suggestion potentially leading to 18 years of protection for a new product through all kinds of mechanisms, such as if a medicine is produced in the EU. This would be disastrous.

It would be worsening a very serious problem, by having even longer periods of no competition for new medicines, in the hope of boosting research and production in Europe even though this could be promoted by other means.

It is ignoring the very real consequences of people not being able to get their hands on medicines they desperately need.

It is piling even more pressure on public health budgets. That will not do.

What we need instead

We need a system that supports innovation but also cares about ensuring timely access to cheaper generic medicines. That is necessary to redress the balance of power which is so unevenly tipped in favour of large pharma companies.

Large pharma companies have threatened for years now that the EU is no longer the market it once was, and they will pull out of the EU if the current conditions they enjoy are touched. It’s time to call their bluff.

The current Commission proposal only slightly amends the exclusivity periods for new medicines.  Whilst this could already bring benefits for some patients, we need more ambition. The future legislation must ensure that companies cannot get longer exclusivities for new medicines than they do today. In fact, they should get less.

As our continent ages, we are going to need to find ways to pay for the medicines we need. Adding a bit more competition to medicines can only be a good thing.