Access to Medicines

EPHA members Cancer Research UK and European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) have joined together with other non-commercial and commercial organisations to produce a joint statement on the revision of the EU Clinical Trials Directive. The 16 signing organisations, which include many pan-European organisations, have urged the European Commission to overhaul the Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC to remove some of the administrative burden of setting up and conducting research. They argue that (...)

A second meeting has been hosted in the European Parliament by Carl Schlyter (Greens-EFA, Sweden) on the subject of improving access to medicines though Medical Innovation Prizesand civil society is uniting to put pressure on the European Institutions to support a model of medical innovation which meets public health need. The meeting was co-organised by EPHA member Health Action International (HAI) an independent, global network working to increase access to essential medicines and (...)

Health Action International (HAI) Europe, in collaboration with Berne Declaration, HAI Africa, HAI Asia Pacific, Third World Network and Knowledge Ecology International, have urged the pharmaceutical company Novartis to put an end to its five year legal actions in India regarding the patenting of the anticancer drug Glivec. The NGOs also called on the Swiss company to refrain from attempting to influence the Indian government over laws and policies that would hinder access to medicine. In (...)

On the World Rare Day Disease Day, the European Commission published a Eurobarometer on Europeans’ awareness and knowledge of rare diseases and their support for policy initiatives and actions taken in the European Union. The outcomes of the Eurobarometer report showed there was a strong support for action at national and European level. Rare diseases are life threatening or chronically debilitating disease, that affect only a few people. A disease is considered to be rare when fewer (...)

The Dutch Ministry of Health has published its 2010 Health Care Performance Report which evaluates the quality, accessibility and costs of health care. Tbe 2006, 2008, and 2010 report are available online. The Dutch Health Care Performance Report 2010, published by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), has recently become available in English. Commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Health, RIVM monitors trends in the quality, accessibility and costs of health (...)

The EU is about to conclude its Free Trade Agreement negociations with India. Current negotiations threaten the pivotal role India plays in supplying affordable generic versions of drugs throughout the developing world. EPHA provides more information on the issues at stake. India`s role in access to affordable generic medicines In recent years, India has become "the pharmacy of the developing world". Ninety-two percent of people living with HIV on treatment in low- and middle-income (...)

Health Action International (HAI) is an independent, global network working to increase access to essential medicines and improve their rational use through research excellence and evidence-based advocacy. In cooperation with the EU Policy Coherence for Development campaign, Health Action International Europe coordinated an expert meeting on Medicines, Access, Trade and Health, with a particular focus on the bilateral negotiations on trade agreements between the European Union and the four (...)

This article is a contribution from Health Action International (HAI) Europe, an EPHA member and is written by Sophie Bloemen. For more information, please have a look at the HAI website At last, the message is getting through to politicians and policy-makers that an inflexible system of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) can have a detrimental effect on public health systems. In its current form, the IPR model has produced some unwelcome consequences for access to essential medicines (...)

Following the European Commission consultation on Information to Patients, earlier this year patient groups have come out divided on the need and the solution to the reform of EU rules on patient information. The European Commission’s proposals would allow the pharmaceutical industry to potentially provide information on prescription drugs over the internet, television, the press, radio and brochures. The consultation, and expected legislative proposal, is very contraversial and (...)