EuropaBio’s Healthcare Manifesto 2011-2012, en route to 2020
This month EuropaBio launches its new Healthcare Manifesto 2011-2012. The document provides guidance and recommendation for the future development of an innovative, competitive and responsive European Healthcare Biotech Industry that will lead to innovative solutions to unmet medical needs.
EuropaBio Chair, Andrea Rappagliosi, commented: “The biotechnology industry supports the ambitious goals set by the Barroso 2020 Strategy and the EU Commission’s Innovation Union to ensure that innovative ideas can be turned into products and services to meet unmet medical needs and at the same time create growth and jobs. We also want to provide a valuable leading high-tech industry sector in Europe which, through responsible innovation, pushes the boundaries of science to increase our understanding of disease mechanisms to help find new solutions for patients and their families.”
Over the last two years, the climate of economic uncertainty has had a dramatic and negative impact on healthcare biotechnology. It has limited finance for smaller companies and has also driven national governments towards implementing measures to contain costs within their healthcare systems as well as in their science and research budgets.
EuropaBio Healthcare Council Chair, Thomas Bols, noted: “Healthcare biotechnology provides patients with new and targeted solutions for a wide range of major diseases such as cancer, diabetes or stroke. However, while healthcare biotech can support governments in their efforts to enhance sustainability of their healthcare systems, cost containment measures can have the opposite effect of hampering innovation and access for patients by delaying or limiting entry into market of new technologies.”
Although the Barroso II Commission has already demonstrated strong political leadership, including the focus on healthy ageing through the first European Innovation Partnership and the process on Corporate Social Responsibility in the field of pharmaceuticals, there is growing concern with regards to the disconnect emerging between the long-term access polices promoted at the EU level and the short-term actions taken at EU Member State level.
The Manifesto also focuses on the importance of core ethical values, achieving better policy making through science and improving access to market throughout the EU. In addition, it places particular importance on creating optimal conditions for Europe’s healthcare biotech SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), which are a major contributor to European Innovation.
Nathalie Moll, EuropaBio Secretary General summarised: “The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly shifting towards biotechnology. Projections estimate that within the next five years 50% of the top 100 drugs will be biotech medicines and healthcare biotechnological knowledge will be used in the development process for all new pharmaceuticals. Now is the time to put in place a coherent and integrated approach towards healthcare policy development. Our Manifesto highlights areas that must urgently be addressed if healthcare biotech is to contribute towards achieving the EU’s 2020 goals.”
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