Speaking in support of the parliamentary vote on serious cross-border threats to health
08.08.13
Commenting on the Parliament’s vote, Tonio Borg, EU Commissioner for Health, stated, “EU citizens need to be assured that a robust and coordinated risk and crisis response is in place to protect them. That is precisely the aim of the Decision adopted today.” Commissioner Borg went on to note that one of the key achievements of the decision is its establishment of a legal basis for the coordination of voluntary joint procurement of vaccines and medicines at EU level.
In support of Commissioner Borg’s words, I would like to emphasise the need for industry and governments to work together in the face of public health threats. Past experience with pandemic flu vaccinations, despite the fact that the flu turned out to be mild, showed that companies stepped up to the plate, expanding manufacturing capacity more than two-fold. Should similar situations arise in the future, we need to work together with relevant stakeholders to again rise to the occasion.
Looking Beyond the EU
This isn’t just about public health in the EU, however. We live in a global society, a fact that is all too clear when it comes to the spread of pandemic diseases. A virus doesn’t recognise an individual’s nationality, it won’t be deterred by country borders, and with today’s global transport systems, even an ocean can’t stop its spread from one continent to the next.
Access to vaccines and benefit sharing at global level is in everyone’s interests – we recognise this. We saw the Indonesian government send a wake-up call towards this end, when it stopped sending samples of the H5N virus to the World Health Organization (WHO), in a call for a more equitable vaccines access for developing countries. WHO and the Indonesian Government reached a solution – but the incident is a serious reminder that we must continue to ensure equitable vaccines access and benefits sharing at global level, whether that entails collaborating on research in the face of pandemic illnesses or helping to organise large-scale vaccination programmes.
With Power Comes Responsibility
The European Parliament’s vote is not one that will benefit my member companies commercially. I can’t deny that, for some people, that fact may make it a less interesting topic. But I encourage others in the industry to join me in welcoming the Parliament’s vote. The powers of the EU come with responsibility and the right to cross-country tenders must not be misused. Ending up with one monopolistic buyer will result in a dangerous decrease in suppliers. A monopolistic environment does nobody any good. We need multiple players to stay competitive, both in terms of innovation and pricing.
Ultimately, we need to recognise our role in serving the interests not only of patients, but of healthy societies. The European Parliament vote on Wednesday is a step towards ensuring swift EU action in the case of future public health emergencies – and if the industry is called on to help, we need to be ready to work together with relevant stakeholders to do so. Thankfully last time was a “dry run”. Next time it might be really serious. But we are ready – and we will do our part.
