5th EPHA Universal Access and Affordable Medicines Forum

5 December 2022

09:00 - 17:00

Scotland House

Brussels

The access to medicines (A2M) Forum is a yearly event organised by EPHA to foster a meaningful and inclusive dialogue on access to medicines and pharmaceutical policies in Brussels and beyond.

The 2022 EPHA A2M Forum is the first edition after the pandemic. It follows a period of increased political attention for access to medicines, which have brought high expectations but limited results in terms of equitable access to affordable medicines at global, EU and national levels.

09:00 - 09:15 | Registration & Coffee
09:15 - 09:45 | Welcome and Setting the Scene

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Milka Sokolovic — Director General, European Public Health Alliance (EPHA)
  • Sylvain Giraud — Head of Unit at DG SANTE, European Commission
  • Els Torreele — Policy Associate at the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP) 
09:45 - 11:00 | EU Joint procurement & cross-border collaborations: what else can be done to improve access and affordability?

Reflecting on the experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and monkeypox outbreak, this session will dig into the future of EU joint procurement for medicines and vaccines.  

What is needed for EU joint procurement to support access to affordable medicines? What can we learn from cross-border collaborations, including Beneluxa to enhance access to affordable medicines? Could joint procurement be used to help in other areas such as medicines for rare diseases?

Moderated by Stephanie Kohl, European Association of Hospital Pharmacists.

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Marc Botenga — MEP, European Parliament 
  • Olivier Girard — Head of Unit HERA, European Commission 
  • Momir Radulović — Director, Slovenian Medicines Agency 
  • Charlotte Roffiaen — European Affairs Advisor, France Assos Sante 
  • Maja Graf— Markets Director, Medicines for Europe
11:00 - 11:30 | Coffee Break
11:30 - 12:30 | Transparency of Pharmaceutical R&D costs: what, who and how?

Current studies show significant differences in the range of estimated R&D costs for new medicines. While the 2019 World Health Assembly resolutionWHA72.8 called for improved transparency of markets for medicines,asymmetries of information between the private and public sectors affect drug pricing negotiations. This session will discuss potential solutions to improve the transparency of pharmaceutical R&D costs.

What type of pharmaceutical R&D transparency do we need? What should be disclosed and to whom? What are the different national experiences in implementing these obligations? Could a disclosure obligation for industry R&D costs help to bring more affordable medicines into the market?

Moderated by Ella Weggen, Wemos.

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Nora Franzen — European Fair Pricing Network
  • Nicola Magrini — Director, Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA)
  • Tilly Metz — MEP, European Parliament
  • Els Torreele — Policy Associate, UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP)
12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch
13:30 - 14:30 | Can a multi-stakeholder platform support affordable access to medicines?

The Oslo Medicines Initiative (OMI) was launched in 2020 as a collaboration between the WHO European Region and the Government of Norway. In September 2022, Member States gave a mandate to the WHO Europe to launch a multi-stakeholder platform between different stakeholders including the public and private sectors, patients, and civil society to co-create solutions for improving access to novel (high-priced) medicines.

This session will explore what is planned and what will be needed for the multi-stakeholder platform recently launched by the WHO Europe to contribute to better access to (affordable) new medicines. How should discussions be organized? Which topics should be discussed (e.g., joint procurement, transparency, pricing & reimbursement, etc.)? How will the platform ensure a level playing field among non-state actors? 

Moderated by Alba Gil, European Public Health Alliance (EPHA).

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Sarah Garner — Sarah Garner — Senior Policy Advisor, World Health Organization – Europe (WHO)
  • Simone Boselli — Public Affairs Director, Eurordis
  • Yannis Natsis — Director, European Social Insurance Platform (ESIP)
  • Ward Rommel — Researcher, Kom op tegen Kanker, Access to Medicines Taskforce, European Cancer Leagues (ECL)
  • Jaume Vidal — Senior Policy Advisor, Health Action International (HAI)
14:30 - 15:00 | Coffee Break
15:00 - 16:30 | Towards global access to new & effective antibiotics: the role of the EU

While antimicrobial resistance is on the rise, the scarcity of new antibiotics and a currently dry clinical pipeline is leaving the world with a few options to combat multiple resistant germs.

Incentives to stimulate the development of new antibiotics are currently being discussed at global level as well as in the EU in the context of the revision of the EU pharmaceutical legislation, the development of HERA activities and other innovative ideas such as the creation of a European Biomedical Infrastructure. This panel will address the challenges of creating incentives for the development of new and effective antibiotics while guaranteeing access and antibiotic stewardship.

What are the best policy options available to spur the development of new and effective antibiotics? How can consistency across EU policies as well as with global cooperation be built?

Moderated by Rosa Castro, European Public Health Alliance (EPHA).

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Kerstin Åkerfeldt — Policy Expert, ReAct Europe
  • Malin Grape — Swedish AMR ambassador
  • Massimo Florio — University of Milan
  • Anca Toma — Executive Director, European Patients’ Forum (EPF)
16:30 - 16:45 | Closing Remarks

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