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| | Hello
Are we nearly there yet? You might well ask. We thought we would be able to present a clear verdict to our readers on the Commissioner-designate for Health Olivér Várhelyi yesterday morning, but it was not to be. Várhelyi, his portfolio, the six vice presidents and various other factors - including political point scoring over the floods in Valencia - to name but a few, have been caught up in what is going to be a busy week of horse trading. To paraphrase Otto von Bismarck, "Commission colleges are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." To be fair to the Parliament, it is one of their main chances to flex some muscle, so it’s understandable that they are making the most of it. |
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| | | | Olivér Várhelyi’s health portfolio hangs in the balance as negotiations stall |
| Health Commissioner-designate Olivér Várhelyi's future role continues to divide the Parliament's political groups.
Renew Europe, which wants to slash Várhelyi's portfolio, wants to reassign health and bioethics to a commissioner from its ranks – the logical choice would be Hadja Lahbib, though this remains unofficial.
"Her portfolio can absorb this," one source told Euractiv. "Renew Europe is proposing a solution, which other groups have not necessarily done. Plus, it avoids redistributing the health segment among different commissioners, which would not be very rational," they added.
S&D also advocates for health, in its entirety, to be removed from Várhelyi's portfolio.
"What makes sense, if we are to modify [Várhelyi's] portfolio, is to remove the entire health segment," confirmed Christophe Clergeau (France, S&D) to Euractiv.
"As for who should take it on, there are several possibilities," he added, calling for “not weakening or destabilising European policies” by fragmenting the health portfolio. Read the full story here. [TM] Back to the top |
| | | | Divergence in R&D spending threatens Europe’s leading pharmaceutical sector |
| PWC’s report for EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries) found that EU R&D spending in the pharmaceutical sector grew on average 4.4% per year between 2010 and 2022, from €27.8 billion to €46.2 billion.
“Economically, the sector is delivering for the EU,” said EFPIA Director General, Nathalie Moll. “It continues to be central to Europe’s health and economic security, despite a growing number of constraints.”
PWC calculates that the average Gross Value Added (GVA) per worker in the pharmaceutical sector in Europe is three times higher than in the European economy as a whole. It is also more productive than sectors like financial services and telecommunications. However, the GVA per hour in the US is double that of the EU.
Nevertheless, in terms of Global R&D spending Europe still accounts for nearly 32.2% of this spending, ranking only second to the US.
Not such a bad performance: However the data shows that there is an ever-growing divergence with R&D investment in US and China, which increased overall spending by 5.5%, and 20.7% respectively over the same period.
University collaboration: An important factor for maintaining Europe’s cutting edge is its higher education. Currently, 16 of the world’s top 50 life science universities are based in Europe.
EFPIA says that growth requires concerted, collective action. Moll places the implementation of a coherent EU life sciences strategy at the heart of future-proofing the sector. Find the full report here. Back to the top |
| | | | Doctors Without Borders calls on Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi to reduce insulin pen prices to $1 |
| Ahead of World Diabetes Day (14 November), Doctors Without Borders (MSF - Medicines sans Frontieres) have called on the makers of insulin pens to bring the cost down to just $1 (€0.94).
While insulin pens are the preferred method of treatment over syringes by an estimated 82% of people with diabetes, they are inaccessible in most low- and middle-income countries. MSF claims that this is to do with the monopolies Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi have on 90% of the diabetes market.
“It’s devastating that today, pharmaceutical corporations Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi are maintaining this double standard in access to diabetes care,” said Dr. Helen Bygrave, Doctors Without Borders’ (MSF) Access Campaign’s non-communicable diseases advisor.
Insulin pens, often single use, cost around €10 throughout the EU, about €5 in low- and middle-income countries and close to $100 in the United States. In addition, Novo Nordisk announced earlier this year that they are halting insulin pen production to increase their GLP-1 medicine sales.
MSF’s claim is based on data released by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open that estimated insulin pens could potentially cost as low as $0.94, including profit.
“It’s time to put an end to profiteering on this lifesaving medicine that has been around for more than a century,” said Candice Sehoma, MSF’s Access Campaign’s advocacy advisor. Back to the top |
| | | | Pandemic treaty out of reach over pathogen access and benefit sharing |
| WHO member states remain far from closing a pandemic agreement, as pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) continues to be a key sticking point halfway through the twelfth round of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) negotiations.
Negotiations continue into 2025: At a press briefing on Monday (11 November), the INB co-chairs confirmed that there would not be a special session of the World Health Assembly in December. The next meeting of the Assembly will take place in May 2025.
Precious Matsoso, South African co-chair of the INB, said the December Assembly was delayed as “we [member states] still do not have a pandemic agreement that is consensus-based.”
The EU argued that a meaningful pandemic agreement is still within reach, but the INB needs more time to resolve its more “complex” issues like technology transfer and PABS.
What is PABS?PABS (short for pathogen access and benefit-sharing), formally article 12 of the current draft agreement, has been described as the "heartbeat" of the pandemic treaty – the WHO’s now lengthy attempt to deal with future pandemics in a more timely and equitable way than COVID-19.
In theory, a PABS system would ensure that countries providing pathogenic information (genomic sequence) would benefit from any resulting medical technologies, such as vaccines and diagnostic tests.
“If you have used the viruses and pathogens from an African country to develop vaccines, it is really common sense that, in the distribution of the medical countermeasures, those that also contributed with the pathogens also get a share,” stressed Dr Ngashi Ngongo, the Africa CDC lead on mpox, during the INB11 in September.
Wealthy v poor: “The discussion around PABS, a cornerstone of these negotiations, highlights the tension between wealthy countries seeking to protect Big Pharma profits and poorer countries struggling to access life-saving vaccines and treatments,” Oxfam’s EU health policy advisor Piotr Kolczyński told Euractiv.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said in the INB12’s November opening session that it was important not to let “perfect be the enemy of the good or even the excellent.” Read the full article here. Back to the top |
| | | | | UK to offer a ‘game-changing’ once-a-day pill to stop smoking |
| United Kingdom - The UK’s National Health Service will offer a once-a-day pill called varenicline to help people stop smoking.
“This simple daily pill could be a game-changer for people who want to quit smoking and is another vital step in shifting our NHS further towards prevention,” said NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard.
The pill, which blocks nicotine cravings and reduces withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, was available on the market a few years ago in the form of Champix (Pfizer), but was withdrawn in 2021 due to impurity concerns. The relaunched generic product has now been approved as “safe” by the UK’s Medicines Health and Regulatory Authority (MHRA). Dr Sarah Jackson, Principal Research Fellow at UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, said studies into varenicline had “consistently found it to be one of the most effective treatments for helping people to stop smoking.”
“We have calculated that it could help around 85,000 people to try to stop smoking each year, and over the next five years, its use could potentially prevent up to 9,500 smoking related deaths. So it really has the potential to make a meaningful contribution to improving health,” she said. [EP] Back to the top |
| | Belgium’s R&D expenditure is approximately seven times higher than the EU average |
| Belgium - Belgium’s R&D expenditure is approximately seven times higher than the EU27 average. It also ranks highly in absolute terms, with only Germany surpassing its investment levels, according to the latest figures from pharma.be.
In 2022, Belgium’s biopharmaceutical sector invested a total of €5.7 billion in R&D, equating to about €15.5 million per day.
“Over the period 2018–2022, the per-capita Belgian R&D expenditure in the biopharmaceutical sector increased by more than 56%. This is almost 2.5 times the growth percentage for R&D expenditure per capita in the EU overall,” stated Pharma.be.
But the sector is not complacent and has responded to Draghi’s rallying call. “Europe needs to deliberately set its course towards the future and build competitiveness into its strategy. This is important for the whole of Europe, and thus Belgium cannot be an exception,” said CEO of Pharma.be, Caroline Ven.
GSK is the largest player in Belgium, with an R&D expenditure of €1.5 billion in 2023 and about 2,000 scientists working in R&D, part of the 9,000 employees in Belgium.
“We have been heavily investing in centralised clinical laboratories, mRNA/MAPS capabilities, and new innovative vaccine programs,” Elisabeth Van Damme, GSK Director of External Communication and Public Affairs, told Euractiv.
“It is essential that we continue the ‘Biopharma R&D platform' also with the next federal government,” said Frederik Druck, General Secretary bio.be/essenscia in a recent statement. Read the full story here. Back to the top |
| | | | | | | | Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices |
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| | Request for Council authorisation for Commission’s endorsement, on behalf of the Union, of the “Jeddah commitments” from the 4th global high-level ministerial conference on antimicrobial resistance |
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| | | New date for Olivér Várhelyi approval as EU Health Commissioner |
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| | INB, Pandemic Agreement, Geneva |
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| | | Steering Group on Shortages and Safety of Medicinal Products (MSSG) |
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| | | | Mini-plenary, Brussels Debate on Enhancing Europe’s civilian and defence preparedness |
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| | INB, Pandemic Agreement, Geneva |
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| | | | | | Case T-36/23 Stevi and The New York Times v Commission Access to text messages exchanged between the President of the Commission and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. |
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| | | | | | | | | | Today’s brief was brought to you by Euractiv’s Health team |
| | | | | Today’s briefing was prepared by the Health team: Catherine Feore, Clara Bauer-Babef, Emma Pirnay, Thomas Mangin, and Lydia Williams. Additional reporting by Nicole Verbeeck. Share your feedback or information with us at [email protected]. |
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