European Parliament report says medicines must be more accessible and affordable

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) yesterday put forward proposals to make medicines more affordable and boost transparency on prices and promote joint European Union public procurement.

The report, which constitutes Parliament’s contribution to the Commission’s plan to update EU pharmaceutical legislation in 2022, was adopted on Wednesday with 527 votes in favor, 92 against and 70 abstentions.

The Parliament, in its own initiative report, stresses the central role of generic, biosimilar and value-added medicines as the European Commission works to revise the legislative framework of the European pharmaceutical industry. Off-patent medicines already account for close to 70% of those used by patients in Europe. The call for increased use of off-patent medicines also implies a tailored regulatory pathway for value added medicines innovation, an area where the EU has been lagging behind the USA for years.