Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - (Page 10) 10 Brussels Report August 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe The Calm Before the Storm Summer may be already well under way, but Reflector sees things hotting up further when the EU reconvenes in the autumn. M ake the most of the break on the beach over the next few weeks. Things are likely to be even hotter when European pharmaceutical executives get back to work in the autumn. Top of the list is the last meeting of the European Union Pharmaceutical Forum, scheduled for 2 October. This is the highlevel group created in 2005, with a mandate to “improve the performance of the pharmaceutical industry in terms of its competitiveness and contribution to social and public health objectives.” Under the joint chairmanship of European Commissioner for Health, Androulla Vassiliou, and Commissioner for Enterprise, Günter Verheugen, it will have to produce some extraordinarily magic formula over the coming two months if it is to avoid disappointing the expectations it has generated. The more probable outcome will be a fudge that will offer a very small improvement to some minor aspects of pharmaceutical pricing systems in Europe, and at the same time impose some additional and unwelcome controls on the evaluation of new medicines that will heavily outweigh any advantages. Also in October, a revision of legislation is scheduled to emerge, consisting of a communication on the future of the single market in pharmaceuticals for human use (likely to echo some of the fudge from the Forum), draft legislation on information to patients and proposals to strengthen and ‘rationalise’ EU pharmacovigilance, almost certainly through plugging some of the loopholes in national systems and EU-level co-ordination on responding to adverse drug reaction reports. Even before then, the EC is expecting to deliver its proposal on updating the EU rules on laboratory animals. But no-one should expect animal experimentation to get any easier, and everyone can expect to see (and maybe participate in) quite a fight between the sharply opposed camps during the next year or so. At the start of October, the EU will launch its ‘Europe for Patients’ campaign — “an intense three-month period of focusing on healthcare and patients issues in Europe.” For the pharmaceutical industry, the debates and initiatives that this campaign will generate are likely to cloud still further the complex discussions on how reimbursement systems should operate, particularly when any type of cross-border healthcare is involved. The end of October will see a ministerial conference on the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and similar diseases, with the aim of adopting a text that will be agreed by social affairs ministers and then by EU leaders at the December summit. On 5 November, the EU will unveil its rare diseases action plan, focusing on promoting high-quality diagnosis, treatment and information for people who at one point or another in their lives suffer from one of the 8000 rare diseases that affect some 6% of the total EU population. November is also the scheduled date for a communication on organ donation and transplantation, and for the publication of draft legislation on quality and safety of organs. The attention that these activities will draw to research and healthcare issues may, if properly exploited, help build respect — even admiration — for the work of the pharmaceutical industry. But proper exploitation cannot be taken for granted. Without some smart footwork by businessmen, the outcome could be more of a scream of frustration about how little the industry is doing to help patients. And just in case anyone is feeling that none of this amounts to a serious challenge to autumnal serenity in the industry, don't forget that ticking away under the entire European pharmaceutical industry edifice is the timebomb of the EU inquiry into pharmaceutical competition — and the interim report on that inquiry is also due to appear sometime in the autumn. Happy holidays!
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 Contents From the Editor News and Analysis Calendar The Calm Before the Storm Steering Pharma in Russia Built on Sand Renaissance Man IT Meets IMI Send for the Software Specialists Know Your eMarket Last Words Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 (Page Cover1) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 (Page Cover2) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Contents (Page 4) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - From the Editor (Page 5) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - News and Analysis (Page 6) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - News and Analysis (Page 7) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Calendar (Page 8) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Calendar (Page 9) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - The Calm Before the Storm (Page 10) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Steering Pharma in Russia (Page 11) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Built on Sand (Page 12) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Renaissance Man (Page 13) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Renaissance Man (Page 14) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - IT Meets IMI (Page 15) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - IT Meets IMI (Page 16) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - IT Meets IMI (Page 17) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Send for the Software Specialists (Page 18) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Send for the Software Specialists (Page 19) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Know Your eMarket (Page 20) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Know Your eMarket (Page 21) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - August 2008 - Last Words (Page 22)
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