EU options for improving access to medicines

On October 12, the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) committee will consider the new draft report on medicines access.

A number of parliamentary resolutions and Council conclusions have drawn the attention to the specific nature of the pharmaceutical market, highlighting the need for a debate and for measures to be taken in this regard. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most competitive sectors in Europe with a 20% return on investment, generating 800.000 jobs and producing an output of approximately 200 billion euros ($223.6 billion) each year.

The prices of new medicines have increased during the past few decades to the point of being unaffordable for many EU citizens creating an unsustainable situation for health care systems. In the development of the current pharmaceutical market, the World Trade Organization encouraged the inclusion of medicines in the patent system and the protection of intellectual property rights in the industrial sector in connection with the development of new drugs.