[Ip-health] Pharmaceutical Forum: delivering better information, access, prices

Wed Oct 4 07:41:52 2006

Press release ( below) on the industry dominated EU Pharmaceutical forum.
The draft progress report is not on the site( as far as I can see) but
will also cover proposals on : price control and assessment mechanisms.

<snip> The progress report seeks to identify, explore and exchange
information and data on alternative mechanisms. With the objective of
finding a balance between controlling expenditure, improving access to
medicines and rewarding innovation.

<snip> The progress report makes a series of recommendations on how to
support Member States applying relative effectiveness systems in order to
allow containment of pharmaceutical costs as well as a fair reward for
innovation.

Michelle

Pharmaceutical Forum: delivering better information, access, prices
--------------------------------------------

Pharmaceutical Forum: delivering better information, better access and
better prices
________________________________

Reference:  IP/06/1282    Date:  29/09/2006

Brussels, 29th September

The newly established Pharmaceutical Forum is today expected to adopt its
first progress report setting out how to improve information on medicines
to patients, enhance value for money and access to medicines and ensure
quicker access to effective medicines through relative effectiveness
policies. The European Commission has set up the Pharmaceutical Forum,
co-chaired by Commission Vice-President GunterVerheugen and Commissioner
Markos Kyprianou to find practical solutions to some of the key structural
and public health issues affecting the pharmaceuticals industry.

The Pharmaceutical Forum brings together Member States, the pharmaceutical
industry, public health and patient groups in a voluntary process,
brokered by the Commission,to achieve the benefits of Europe-wide
cooperation in areas which are partially governed by national law.

Commission Vice-President Gunter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and
industry policy, said: 'Europe is no longer the pharmacy of the world. We
need to look urgently at the structural issues affecting the competitively
of the industry and respond to these challenges. The purpose of the
Pharmaceutical Forum is to push forward to deliver concrete results by
June next year.'

Commissioner Markos Kyprianou, responsible for health and consumer
protection, said: 'Patients in Europe do not have equal access to
information on medicines. Today we have agreed to set up concrete ways to
help ensure that all European patients can have access to information no
matter where they live or what language they speak.'

The progress report sets out a series of proposals for further action.

1. Information to patients
The progress report sets out conclusions on ways to improve the quality
of, and access to information, such as:

* developing a model package of information for patients on diseases
(using diabetes as a first example);
* considering areas for more harmonised EU wide action on information on
medicines;
and  * improving patient access to good quality health information..

2. Control of expenditure: Pricing/Reimbursement
Several factors have generated significant changes in the pricing and
reimbursement mechanisms of most Member States during the last years,
including rising expenditure on medicines, inequity of access to
medicines, lack of early access to innovative medicines. The progress
report seeks to identify, explore and exchange information
and data on alternative mechanisms. With the objective of finding a
balance between controlling expenditure, improving access to medicines and
rewarding innovation.

3. Relative effectiveness: assessing the effectiveness of medicines in
comparison with other treatment options

The progress report makes a series of recommendations on how to support
Member States applying relative effectiveness systems in order to allow
containment of pharmaceutical costs as well as a fair reward for
innovation.

Relative effectiveness assessment systems are relatively new for many
Member States and rather complex.Nevertheless, the outcome of relative
effectiveness assessments is promising as they will help identify the most
valuable medicines, both in terms of clinical efficiency
and cost-effectiveness, and will help set a fair price for these
medicines.

Background
The work of the Pharmaceutical Forum builds on that of the G10 Medicines
group established in 2001[1]. In preparation for today's meeting, three
technical working groups were established: Improving information on
medicines to patients, finding a balance between rewarding innovation,
value for money and access to medicines in pricing & reimbursement
policies, and quicker access to effective medicines through
relative effectiveness policies. The next Pharmaceutical Forum is likely
to be held in June 2007.

The EU pharmaceutical sector is a very robust and innovative economic
sector, but it is declining in relative terms compared to its competitors.
It employs about 600,000 people in Europe of whom around 100,000 are in
research, makes a significant positive contribution to the Union's trade
balance (=E2=82=AC32 billion in 2004) and makes a substantial investment in=
 the
European science base (21 billion in 2004).

More information
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/phabiocom/comp_pf_en.htm
________________________________

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/phabiocom/g10home.htm
It was a small high level group, with 11 representatives from Member
States, industry, patients and mutual health funds, established to advise
the Commission on ways to improve the competitiveness of the
European-based industry in line with public health objectives. It produced
a report in 2002 with a number of
recommendations.