In April this year, the European Commission issued its proposals for a comprehensive revision of the EU’s basic pharmaceutical legislation. Reflecting key lessons learned from COVID, the proposals seek to create an “innovation-and competitiveness-friendly” landscape in Europe for biomedical research and medicines development, while ensuring greater resilience and autonomy in the event of future health crises and addressing the sector’s environmental footprint.
Yet various R&D stakeholders are concerned that – in trying to strike a balance between myriad public and private sector interests – the Commission could inadvertently achieve the opposite. For example, shortening EU patent protection on new therapeutics is intended to boost patient access to medicines, but could persuade pharmaceutical companies, scientists and investors to prioritise other regions to develop and commercialise breakthrough innovations in the future. Under such a scenario, Europe’s whole health and life sciences community is likely to feel the chill, with fewer resources over time to sustain its historical excellence in fundamental research, international cooperation platforms, and global scientific leadership. Both pharmaceutical and medical technology companies are closely watching the EU’s actions on data sharing.
What ultimately emerges in terms of new directives and regulation will have a direct impact on pharmaceutical and medical technology R&D ecosystems everywhere – not just in terms of corporate investment and production planning, but also attractiveness to venture capital, public-private partnerships and top research talent, among others. And perhaps more importantly, it may influence Europe’s readiness to provide global leadership – both scientific and political – when the world is confronted with its next urgent health crisis.
On 15 November, the S|B Health & Life Sciences Day will therefore take as its central theme health innovation and the future of medicines development. It will explore the state of play at the interface between healthcare legislative and regulatory agendas and their R&D equivalents. It will also feature expert roundtables and debates on specific challenges and opportunities that will influence the next era of research-industry collaboration, including issues such as data access and sharing across borders, and the wider implications for health and life sciences in Europe.
Participants profiles
