G10 medicines group publishes report
The G10 medicines group, established in March 2001 to look at ways of encouraging innovation and competitiveness in the EU pharmaceutical industry, presented its final report to Commission President Romano Prodi on 7 May. German Federal minister for health, Ulla Schmidt, a member of the group, told a press conference that there is a basic conflict between the interest of pharmaceutical companies in increasing their turnover and the interest of Member States in ensuring medicines are available to their citizens at an appropriate cost. Ms Schmidt said that companies offering innovative products should be given a greater opportunity to make profit than those whose products are more traditional. Group member Jean-François Dehecq, President of the European federation of pharmaceutical industry federations (EFPIA), said a high level of intellectual property protection is necessary to stimulate research. He added that although the EU pharmaceutical industry has lost competitiveness in comparison with the USA, Europe has started to work together to remedy the situation and 'that's a start.' The report's suggestions for improving the EU science base and stimulating innovation include the creation of virtual networks of health institutes and improvements to the procedure for introducing innovative medicines to the market. It also suggests that the Commission and Member States coordinate and support the conduct of clinical trials on a European scale and establish a database of trials and clinical research results. In addition, the group advocates the introduction of incentives for the research, development and marketing of paediatric medicines.