EU compulsory pharma licensing reform raises wrath of industry

There has been a substantial backlash from major pharmaceutical trade associations and companies to the European Commission’s (EC) feedback initiative on the introduction of a pan-European compulsory license, which would allow for the invalidation of existing drug patents across the European Union (EU) in emergency situations.

According to data and analytics firm GlobalData, this could lead to further revision of the proposal.

GlobalData’s pharma analyst Jay Patel commented: “The pharmaceutical industry’s response to the feedback initiative has been overwhelmingly negative. Several responses drew attention to the question of defining emergency situations, which remains vague in the legislation. Not only did the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) maintain its generally critical line towards the EU’s pharmaceutical strategy reform package, but its US counterpart, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) expressed its support for the EFPIA position and its scathing disapproval of EU-wide compulsory licensing.”