European Commission responds to G10 report

The European Commission has launched its response to the G10 high level group report on reforming the EU pharmaceutical industry, by making firm suggestions on how to develop its recommendations.

In a Communication (policy paper), Brussels says that it will benchmark the competitiveness of the EU pharmaceutical industry annually by developing 'a good overview of trends in competitiveness.' It also intends to assess opportunities for promoting market integration and alternative ways of controlling national pharmaceutical expenditure.

EU Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said the plans would generate 'action that we believe can help the European-based pharmaceutical industry regain its competitive edge and continue to make a valuable contribution to public health and the European science base. To achieve this we must work closely with member states and other stakeholders to ensure that the implementation maintains this balance between objectives.'

The Communication says that in particular EU officials are preparing to:

•Examine the scope for improving delays presently caused by pricing and reimbursement decisions;

•Review ways of controlling national health care expenditures, to ensure newly authorised medicines come to market more quickly;

•Create an information sharing forum for member states focusing on pharmaceutical pricing and reim-bursement decisions;

•Assess the possibility of creating a collaborative public-private body advising on the quality of information on medicines available to consumers.