The second half of 2023 took a special turn for me... from being a full time professional, mum, wife and friend I suddenly turned into a patient; as I got a very complicated leg fracture after a ski-accident on my favorite slopes in Austria. A forced pause button... Whilst the rest of the world kept on turning, including the discussions on the EU pharma package, I kept hope and realized how lucky I am to live in a country were I have access to the best medical care and how lucky I am to be working for a company that gave me time to focus on my health and recovery.
Since I came back in September I was pleased to see that we have made progress in sharing insights and thoughts on why it is so important to keep a strong IP framework in Europe, strong and predictable IP is one of the corner stones to build an industrial policy to attract future investments in healthcare innovation. IP supports the journey of a medicine from the academic research bench, through clinical trials until an approved treatment for patients. This is what I learned when I went to discuss the role of IP with Thomas De Beer, Professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Ghent University University, and Dirk De Smaele, Janssen Global Head Chemical Development & Supply.
With my team, we further reflected on the learnings from these conversations in our latest article published on POLITICO.EU. In 2020, clinical trial activity in Europe accounted for 19.3% of the global share, down from 25% average over the last decade. Strengthening our IP framework would help to reverse the decline of EU‘s share in clinical trials globally.
But what is the link between IP and clinical trials, you might ask? The regions with the most stable and predictable IP and regulatory frameworks have a comparative advantage in attracting clinical trials. Running clinical trials in a region allows patients to test potentially life-saving experimental treatments at their doorstep. Also, we should not forget that clinical trials keep top physicians and researchers in the region, creating opportunities for them to be at the head of innovation and become opinion leaders in their field of expertise.
The ongoing revision of the EU Pharmaceutical Legislation should work for everyone, help to make the EU the place where innovation will thrive, and where no patient will be left behind.
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