Pharmaceuticals Policy in the EU

Latest news on the pharmaceutical policies of the European Union.

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Macedonia seizes EU-bound marijuana, arrests 15 — 08 January 2013, 22:02 CET

Macedonian police have seized some 350 kilogrammes (771 pounds) of marijuana bound for the European Union, worth up to one million euros ($1.3 million), and arrested 15 people, a minister said on Tuesday.

EU approves Bayer's new long-term contraceptive — 05 December 2012, 11:27 CET

German drug maker Bayer said on Wednesday that European Union authorities had given the go-ahead for a new contraceptive which can prevent pregnancies for up to three years.

Synthetic drug-use in Europe at all-time high — 15 November 2012, 14:04 CET

Europe is being bombarded with an array of new, synthetic drugs of which the ingredients and effects on users are unknown, the continent's drug agency warned in a report on Thursday.

EC measures to tackle biopiracy and facilitate nature-based research — 04 October 2012, 19:59 CET

Researchers and companies in the EU received a boost today with a new proposal that should provide reliable access to genetic resources from outside the Union. The proposal – a draft Regulation that would implement the 'Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-sharing' – is designed to protect the rights of countries and of indigenous and local communities that allow their genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge to be used, while also giving researchers in Europe improved, reliable access to quality samples of genetic resources at low cost with high legal certainty.

EU unveils measures to combat biopiracy — 04 October 2012, 19:52 CET

The European Union on Thursday set out proposals aimed at thwarting the illegal use of genetic resources and traditional medicine, a practice known as bio-piracy.

Canada-EU free trade negotiations come down to cheap drugs — 19 September 2012, 23:49 CET

A proposal to extend drug patents in Canada as part of a free trade pact being negotiated with the European Union provoked a backlash this week over fears it would push up health care costs.

Brussels widens anti-trust probe over generic medicines — 26 July 2012, 00:34 CET

The European Commission has extended an anti-trust probe into French pharmaceutical maker Les Laboratoires Servier to include the Danish laboratory Lundbeck.

Cannabis production growing in Europe: report — 26 June 2012, 15:55 CET

The market share of cannabis herb is steadily increasing across Europe at the expense of imported cannabis resin, says the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

Nearly one new drug a week detected in EU — 26 April 2012, 12:02 CET

New illicit drugs are appearing on the European Union market at a rate of nearly one a week, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) said Thursday.

Central Asia urges more border help ahead of NATO pull-out — 17 April 2012, 14:05 CET

With international forces set to pull out of Afghanistan in 2014, central Asian states appealed Monday for more help in securing the region's borders and cracking down on crime and trafficking.

Croatia charges nine for smuggling cocaine into EU — 14 April 2012, 21:37 CET

Croatia's prosecutors said on Saturday they have charged nine people for smuggling at least 175 kilos (385 pounds) of cocaine worth several million euros into Europe from the Caribbeans.

Novartis says EU approves expanded use of Glivec — 27 February 2012, 15:48 CET

Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis said Monday the European Union will allow it to expand its use of the drug Glivec to treat certain rare forms of gastrointestinal cancer.

Antimicrobial Resistance - guide — 17 November 2011, 17:57 CET

With about 25,000 patients dying per year in the EU from infections caused by drug resistant bacteria and related costs of over 1.5 billion euros in healthcare expenses and productivity losses , antimicrobial resistance is a growing health problem in the EU. Today, on the eve of European Antibiotic Awareness Day, the European Commission tabled a comprehensive Action Plan on Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which unveils12 concrete actions to be implemented in close cooperation with the EU Member States.

Information to patients on prescription-only medicines - guide — 11 October 2011, 22:15 CET

The European Commission has adopted revised proposals clarifying the information that industry can supply to the public on prescription-only medicines.

EU Register of Clinical Trials — 22 March 2011, 17:57 CET

From 22 March 2011, all EU citizens have access to information on the thousands of authorised pharmaceutical clinical trials that are under way in the EU. The aim of this official public register is to make clinical research on pharmaceuticals more transparent for patients and others and to avoid unnecessary duplication of clinical trials. Every year approximately 4000 clinical trials are authorised in the EU. Since most of them last 2 to 3 years, this means that around 10,000 trials are ongoing at any given time.

European Medicines Agency — 23 September 2010, 22:06 CET

The European Medicines Agency is a decentralised body of the European Union, located in London. Its main responsibility is the protection and promotion of public and animal health, through the evaluation and supervision of medicines for human and veterinary use.

EU approves acquisition of Millipore by Merck — 08 July 2010, 16:39 CET

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Millipore, a US-based life science group of companies by the German pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck.

Incentive driven pharmaceutical prescription is lawful, EU Court rules — 06 May 2010, 12:44 CET

The European Court of Justice has ruled that public authorities may offer financial incentives to induce doctors to prescribe cheaper medicinal products. However, those authorities are required, first, to ensure that the incentive scheme is based on non-discriminatory objective criteria and, second, to make public, inter alia, the therapeutic evaluations relating to the scheme

Cheaper drugs incentive schemes ruled legal by European court — 24 April 2010, 00:30 CET

The European Court of Justice has ruled that public authorities may offer financial incentives to induce doctors to prescribe cheaper medicinal products.

CASELEX:EU:2008:92 - IP Law - Trade marks - Pharmaceutical products — 03 February 2010, 16:38 CET

The reference was made by the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria) in the course of proceedings between The Wellcome Foundation Ltd (‘Wellcome’), proprietor of the Austrian trade mark ZOVIRAX, and Paranova Pharmazeutika Handels GmbH (‘Paranova’), concerning pharmaceutical products under the ZOVIRAX trade mark, marketed in Member States of the European Economic Area (‘EEA’) by Wellcome or by third parties, and the subject of parallel importation by Paranova and marketing by the latter in Austria, after having been repackaged.

The EU drugs action plan (2009-2012) — 06 January 2010, 00:35 CET

This action plan establishes five priorities to be implemented in the fight against drugs: coordination at European and national levels, reduction of demand for drugs, reduction of supply of drugs, international cooperation and information on the drugs phenomenon.

Pharmaceuticals — 19 August 2009, 16:24 CET

The role of the European Commission is to ensure that all players on the pharmaceuticals market (EU Member States, national health services and pharmaceutical companies) respect the Treaty rules on free competition and the free movement of goods and services within the internal market.

Information Communication Technologies Policy Support Programme (ICT PSP) — 14 July 2009, 22:17 CET

The ICT Policy Support Programme (or ICT PSP) aims at stimulating innovation and competitiveness through the wider uptake and best use of ICT by citizens, governments and businesses.

EU pharmaceutical sector inquiry - briefing — 08 July 2009, 23:10 CET

Market entry of generic drugs is delayed and there is a decline in the number of novel medicines reaching the market, according to the European Commission's final report on competition in the pharmaceutical sector. The sector inquiry suggests that company practices are among the causes, but does not exclude other factors such as shortcomings in the regulatory framework. As a follow up, the Commission intends to intensify its scrutiny of the pharmaceutical sector under EC antitrust law, including continued monitoring of settlements between originator and generic drug companies. The first antitrust investigations are already under way. The report also calls on Member States to introduce legislation to facilitate the uptake of generic drugs. The report notes near universal support amongst stakeholders for a Community Patent and specialised patent litigation system in Europe.

ICT Policy Support Programme — 08 July 2009, 18:17 CET

The ICT Policy Support Programme (or ICT PSP) aims at stimulating innovation and competitiveness through the wider uptake and best use of ICT by citizens, governments and businesses.