EFPIA pledge to reduce inequalities in patient access to medicines across Europe

The new pledge from member companies of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) should drastically increase the availability of innovative medicines in EU countries and decrease the time patients must wait for new medicines by several months.

As of Monday, EFPIA member companies commit to file for pricing and reimbursement in all European Union countries as soon as possible and no later than two years from the central EU market authorization, provided that local systems allow it. The commitment is designed to help deliver faster, more equitable access to medicines for patients across Europe.

Data published by the EFPIA last week showed that disparities in the time it takes for patients to access new medicines in different EU Member States are increasing. Patients in GeEFPIA pledge to reduce inequalities in patient access to medicines across Europermany wait around 133 days to access new medicines compared to patients in Romania that endure a wait of 899 days. Significant disparities also occurred in terms of availability of innovative medicines since less than 30% of centrally approved products are available in smaller and Eastern European Member States compared with 92% in Germany and 46% in average in the European Union.