
What happened?
The future of health and beyond
The COVID-19 pandemic showcased the need for all stakeholders, from both the private and public sectors, to work together in a transparent way and join forces with the shared objective of improving public health and delivering to citizens. On the occasion of our European Health Summit, held under the theme ‘innovation in health for a brighter future’, speakers reminded the audience that health matters and reflected on the need to ensure that lessons learned during the pandemic are not lost.
The summit convened participants from various sectors, including civil society, governments, EU institutions and industry. During a series of lively parallel roundtables and interactive debates, speakers proposed recommendations for EU’s next mandate on health for 2024.
“We’re spending 80% to sometimes 95% of our budget to react to diseases. Health expenditures are also on the rise in most EU member states. We need to define success in health and what it means to us in terms of KPIs and then associate money to that and ensure the entire Union moves towards this, providing quality of life and wellbeing to EU citizens,” highlighted Ricardo Baptista Leite, CEO of HEALTH.AI and European Young Leader (EYL40).
“We need to improve innovation and share research. No country can work alone, the pandemic demonstrated it,” added Fabiana Brigante, Legal Officer of the Secretary General at the Italian Ministry of Health. Brigante explained how Italy is using the national recovery and resilience plan funds to upgrade their health sector.
While there have been large investments to better healthcare services and access to innovative tools both on national and EU level, Jakub Dvořáček, Czech Deputy Minister of Health, said that “we have to understand how to invest the money in healthcare.”
As Dvořáček explained, the secondary use of health data is not solely the ‘holy grail’ for research but also vital to understand whether these investments bring both social and economic returns.
Anca Toma, Executive Director of the European Patients’ Forum, provided an alternative perspective: “Is health about economic terms or is it about human rights? If it is about costs, we need to remember that citizens are shareholders of the health system as taxpayers and we should have a seat at the table.”
Participants also heard from Francesca Cavallo, best-selling author of “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Founder & CEO of Undercats and 2019 European Young Leader (EYL40), that “it’s ok to not be ok” on Mental Health Day.
In conclusion, the European Health Summit served as an opportunity for stakeholders to share recommendations aimed at reshaping the future of healthcare and contributing to the Renewed Social Contract. The event not only shed light on the challenges ahead but also emphasised the importance of collaboration, innovation, and sustained investment in healthcare to improve public health in Europe.
This event took place in Brussels and was also available to a wider audience via livestream. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook, and join the #HealthSummit discussion!
Related content:
- Insight | Investing in health today is an investment in a healthier tomorrow, by Nicholas Cosenza
- Insight | Rethinking health investments: the continued importance of vaccination against COVID-19, by Andrea Corazza
- Insight | An innovation mindset can transform the delivery of healthcare, by Jean-Luc Lemercier
Policy briefing | Building a path for rare diseases in the European Health Data Space
Policy briefing | EU health systems post-pandemic: delivering care to patients at the right place and time
- Insight | Recognising the value of the arts: calling for strategies and action to support health challenges, by Katey Warran, Nils Fietje and Kornelia Kiss
- Policy briefing | Prioritising arts and culture in a renewed social contract
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Schedule
Medicine has been revolutionised by a range of remarkable advancements these last years. As transformative innovations reshape the field – from vaccines that work by harnessing the power of messenger RNA, to AI outperforming medical professionals in the detection of some tumours – what will be the next breakthroughs that will push boundaries in healthcare?
This set of 3 parallel briefings featured short and inspiring conversations on the next breakthroughs that will push the boundaries in healthcare from AI to next-gen diagnostics as well as robotics in healthcare.
(For a limited number of guests, seats were attributed on a first-come, first-served basis, ahead of the plenaries)
ROOM 1 – NEXT-GEN DIAGNOSTICS
Our global healthcare system is under pressure as climate change worsens and the spread of resistant pathogens increases. We will discuss the future of next-gen diagnostics in addressing these global challenges and which steps we need to take now to be prepared on a European level.
With Eva Rennen, Co-Founder & COO of Nostics, applying nanotechnology, photonics and machine learning to brings a new type of diagnostics
ROOM 2 – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (FOR CLINICAL AND NON-CLINICAL PUPRPOSES)
Recent developments in Deep Learning brought a huge shift in AI’s capabilities that helped significantly improve its value in- and outside the clinic. The latter is increasingly on the rise, coming with a number of ‘real-life challenges’. Here, we discussed the huge potential, but also the limitations and risks.
With Björn Schuller, World-leading scientist in the fields of affective computing, health informatics and computer audition, and Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Imperial College London
ROOM 3 – ROBOTICS IN HEALTHCARE
Robots are gradually entering our healthcare systems. Examples include robotic rehabilitation devices, wearable exoskeletons to help prevent musculoskeletal injuries and powered prostheses which restore the functionality of a missing limb. However, as these technologies become more advanced, challenges such as certification, standardisation and reimbursement emerge as new obstacles to overcome.
With Tom Verstraten, Professor at the Robotics Research Group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the need to build resilient healthcare systems, boost the workforce and uphold investments into innovative health technology to strengthen health in the EU. While healthcare professionals and policymakers have focused on developing new interventions to address health issues, a 2023 Eurobarometer survey shows that 56% of EU citizens think that reforms are most needed in public health. One of the reforms that can be made in the EU is to strive for more health innovation.
Investing in health innovation does not merely save lives. It improves quality of life, economic prosperity, long-term cost savings, health equity and crisis preparedness against future public health emergencies and can reduce the burden on hospitals and healthcare workers. Given the advantages, healthcare should be recognised as an investment rather than a cost. However, with increasing developments of new therapies and the rise in demand for care due to increasing chronic diseases and an ageing population, healthcare spending is increasing. As a result, many European countries will not be able to afford the next wave of innovative products.
Meanwhile, the EU4Health programme offers financial support and paves the way to a European Health Union by investing in strategies such as Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the Non-Communicable Disease Initiative, the pharmaceutical strategy, and building EU resilience for cross-border health threats. But what progress has it made, and what remains to be done to help Europe shift the paradigm from perceiving health as a cost, to recognising it as a long-term investment?
- How does reframing health as an investment contribute to improved quality of care and sustainable economic growth in Europe? And what could it mean for citizens, the private sector member states and the EU?
- How much progress have we made so far with the EU4Health programme, and what needs to happen now to address unmet healthcare needs and improve equitable patient access to innovation?
- How can the private sector and governments join forces on delivering value and team up to find a sustainable model to invest in innovative products, and gain a competitive edge?
With
Fabiana Brigante
Legal officer of the Secretary General at the Italian Ministry of Health
Andrea Corazza
Senior Director for European Policy & Government Affairs at Novavax
Jakub Dvořáček
Czech Deputy Minister for Health
Andrea Rappagliosi
Senior Vice-President of Public Affairs for EMEA, Canada and LATAM at Edwards Lifesciences
Nina Rawal
Partner and Co-Head at Trill Impact Ventures and 2014 European Young Leader (EYL40)
Anca Toma
Executive Director of the European Patients’ Forum
Mental health is vital for human well-being, but 40% of men have never talked about their mental health to anyone. Men are three times more likely than women to commit suicide, die in a car accident, hit a pedestrian or commit a violent crime. Economists have analysed how much we could all save if… men behaved like women. It is calculated that a country like Italy or France could save up to 5% of the annual GDP. The EU has highlighted its importance by adding a pillar to the European Health Union – a new comprehensive approach to mental health. In the implementation of this plan, a focus on men’s mental health is crucial.
Art and storytelling too can have a profound impact in reshaping our expectations and beliefs about what it means to ‘be a man’, with the goal of dismantling a culture that has created a pervasive crisis affecting the well-being of women, men and children alike.
Taking place on World Mental Health Day, this idea-sharing was an opportunity to discuss mental health as a universal right, highlighting some of the culture-based obstacles that stand in the way of giving this issue the importance it deserves.
With
Francesca Cavallo
Bestselling author of “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls”, Founder & CEO of Undercats and 2019 European Young Leader (EYL40)
Digitalisation plays a critical role in public health. The acceleration of digital transformation during the pandemic has revolutionised healthcare delivery and highlighted the immense potential of technology in improving patient care and equitable access to healthcare services and treatments. Data science and digital tools such as telemedicine, remote monitoring and diagnostics, electronic health records, artificial intelligence and machine learning have a large impact now, but will also be hugely important in the future for EU health and medicines development processes.
While the EU recognises that digitalisation increases the capacity of healthcare systems to deliver more personalised care, it is important to discuss how to improve digital health with a people-centred approach. According to a 2023 Eurobarometer survey, 31% of Europeans ask for more digital and user-friendly services. Healthcare systems can also be improved through collective decision-making and data collection.
As digitalisation is on the rise in public health, the healthcare system needs to adapt to digitalisation and new technologies.
Given that demand for care continues to rise and care offer is on the decline due to workers’ shortages and capacity constraints, there is an increased demand to build resilient healthcare systems and ensure equitable access to medicines. Digital tools create new pathways to making healthcare and medicines more accessible for all. EU initiatives like the European Approach to Artificial Intelligence and the European Health Data Space (EHDS) are key for making progress towards greater equity. In this digital decade, rapid changes lie ahead – is this an opportunity to reflect on how digitalisation can enhance health equity in Europe?
- How is the digital revolution changing health and what is the current state of digitalisation in EU healthcare?
- What technological developments in health can lead to greater health equity and more resilient healthcare systems in Europe whilst reducing the burden on healthcare workers and hospital settings?
- What are the barriers to digitalisation in the European healthcare sector, and how can these challenges be overcome to ensure a seamless transition towards digital health solutions?
- How does the healthcare system need to adapt to fully realise the promise of new technology and treatments?
With
Nasreen Anjum-Malik
Policy and Strategic Advisor at the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF)
Ridwaan Jhetam
Senior Vice-President and Head of Worldwide Medical Affairs Hematology at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)
Ricardo Baptista Leite
CEO of HEALTH.AI, the Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health (formally known as I-DAIR), President of ‘UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health’ and 2015-2016 European Young Leader (EYL40)
Maya Matthews
Acting Director of Digital, EU4Health and Health Systems Modernisation at European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE)
Tomislav Sokol
Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and shadow rapporteur on the Revision of the EU pharmaceutical legislation
Speakers

Policy and Strategic Advisor at the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF)
Nasreen Anjum-Malik currently works as a policy and strategic advisor at the Dutch Cancer Society, the largest funder of cancer research in the Netherlands. She particularly focuses on improving the interoperability of healthcare data and enabling secondary use for research purposes, by working together with multiple stakeholders towards a national data infrastructure. Having worked with e-Health solutions and healthcare innovations in past positions, digitalisation and implementation of AI in healthcare are topics Anjum-Malik often advises on.

Legal officer of the Secretary General at the Italian Ministry of Health
Fabiana Brigante is a lawyer and currently works for the Italian Ministry of Health where she supports the Secretary General’s activities. She previously worked at the Ministry of Health’s Unit for the completion of the vaccination campaign and for the adoption of measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bestselling author of “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls”, Founder & CEO of Undercats and 2019 European Young Leader (EYL40)
Francesca Cavallo is a bestselling author of children’s books, entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of Undercats Media. She is the co-creator of ‘Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls’, a collection of 100 tales of extraordinary women that has become a publishing sensation. Cavallo’s career began in theatre, where she worked as both a manager for a theatre company and as a playwright. In 2012, she moved to California to co-found a children’s media start-up called Timbuktu Labs, Inc. Since then, she has authored nine picture books that have been translated into more than 47 languages. Her most recent international bestseller is the children’s book ‘Doctor Li and the Crown-wearing Virus’.

Senior Director for European Policy & Government Affairs at Novavax
Andrea Corazza currently holds the position of Novavax’s Government Affairs and Policy in Europe. He has over 12 years of experience in European government affairs and healthcare policies. Prior to joining Novavax, Corazza led Biogen’s engagement with the EU institutions, with a strong focus on the EU pharma legislation and rare diseases. Previously, he worked in FTI Consulting, a leading consulting firm, advising multiple healthcare and life sciences clients on a range of high-impact political issues, and for Global Health Advocates, then focusing his efforts on promoting global health research and development and child immunisation policies. Corazza also gained experience by working for a number of the world’s leading international institutions, including the UN, NATO, and the European Commission.

Czech Deputy Minister for Health
Prior to assuming his current role as Czech Deputy Minister of Health, for which he is mainly responsible for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and the implementation of the National Recovery Plan, Jakub Dvořáček served as executive director of the Association of the Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry. Previously, he served as director of the Investment Division in CzechInvest, an agency at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, involved in the promotion of foreign direct investments to the Czech Republic. Concurrently, he served as an advisor to the Czech Minister of Education, Youth and Sport. Dvořáček also held several management positions in Caritas Czech Republic and managed significant health awareness programs, development, and humanitarian projects around the world.

Senior Vice-President and Head of Worldwide Medical Affairs Hematology at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)
Ridwaan Jhetam has worked in global, regional and local roles across medical affairs, clinical research and clinical development through all clinical phases of the medicines development lifecycle. He has expertise in medicines development, medical governance, product commercialisation, lifecycle management and healthcare systems in the US, Canada, Europe and emerging markets. Jhetam’s experience spans hematology, oncology and supportive care, including biologics, cytotoxics, targeted therapy, small molecules and Immunotherapies. He also holds the position of Visiting Senior Lecturer at King’s College London’s Department of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

CEO of HEALTH.AI, the Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health (formally known as I-DAIR), President of ‘UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health’ and 2015-2016 European Young Leader (EYL40)
Prior to assuming his current role as CEO of HEALTH.AI (formally known as I-DAIR), an organisation that seeks to enable and improve access to inclusive, impactful and responsible research into digital health and artificial intelligence (AI), Ricardo Baptista Leite served as a member of the Portuguese national parliament’s health committee. He also founded the UNITE global network of parliamentarians, present in over 100 countries and active in tackling infectious diseases. Leite was a practising physician for seven years and has also held an infectious diseases residency at the WHO. He was a medical volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic and at the Lviv Regional Hospital in Ukraine in the summer of 2022. He has an active role on several scientific and advisory boards of health, including as Chair of the Global Health Policy Lab, a collaborative between the University Medicine Berlin and Harvard University, and Chair of the Centre for Global Health at NOVA University in Portugal.

Acting Director of Digital, EU4Health and Health Systems Modernisation at European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE)
Maya Matthews has worked in the public health sector for the past 25 years. She currently holds the position of Acting Director for Digital, EU4health and Health Systems Modernisation as well as Head of Unit for State of Health, European Semester, Health Technology Assessment at the European Commission’s Health and Food Safety Directorate General (DG SANTE). Matthews was previously Deputy Head of Unit in the Strategy and Coordination unit. Prior to this, she worked at the European Union’s Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva where she covered health issues and relations with the World Health Organisation. Before joining the European Commission, Matthews worked in Brussels for Eurohealthnet and as a consultant on reproductive health, HIV prevention and Tuberculosis.

Senior Vice-President of Public Affairs for EMEA, Canada and LATAM at Edwards Lifesciences
A member of the regional executive leadership team at Edwards Lifesciences, Andrea Rappagliosi leads the company’s government affairs, market access, communication and patients advocacy engagement. He previously worked at Sanofi as the vice-president of European public affairs, prior to which he held positions in the public affairs and market access policy area at Baxter Healthcare, Serono International and GSK. A founding member of the Global Policy Forum at HTAi, the scientific and professional society for those who produce or use health technology assessment (HTA), Rappagliosi currently chairs the MedTech Europe HTA Committee and serves on the Board of the European Patient Safety Foundation (EUPSF).

Partner and Co-Head at Trill Impact Ventures and 2014 European Young Leader (EYL40)
Nina Rawal is a Partner and Co-Head at Trill Impact Ventures, Europe’s leading impact investing house. Prior to her current role, she founded Emerging Health Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on affordable medicine and medical products. She was also the head of life science at the Swedish Industrial Development Fund, a €500mn venture capital fund, where she was responsible for international business development in early life science companies. Rawal has also previously served as the head of strategy and ventures at Baxter Group, formerly Gambro, a leading global medical technology company. She also sits on the boards of MedCap AB and Stockholms Sjukhem, a non-profit hospital. In recognition of her work, Rawal has been recognised among the Women’s Forum Rising Talents.

Co-Founder & COO of Nostics
Eva Rennen is the Co-Founder and COO of Nostics, a platform that focuses on diagnosing bacterial infections and preventing antibiotic resistance, and aims to increase the accessibility of diagnostics and positively influence equity for healthcare worldwide. She previously gained experience in various industries and roles, and has also been active in fostering innovation and business for startups in the Netherlands. In 2021, she was awarded the title of ‘FutureMaker’ at FutureWomenX, a global network of women in senior-level positions driving transformative change.

World leading Scientist in the fields of Affective Computing, Health Informatics and Computer Audition; and Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Imperial College London
Björn Schuller is a world-leading scientist in the fields of health informatics, electrical engineering, and computer science. He is a professor of artificial intelligence at Imperial College London, Chief Scientific Officer at audEERING and an entrepreneur. He holds various Fellow positions in renowned IT Institutes and has received more than 50 awards, such as the World Economic Forum award for extraordinary scientists under 40 years old. Schuller is part of the class of Distinguished Lecturers of 2024 of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He has co-authored more than 1,200 publications and is one of the most influential researchers in AI, Health Informatics and Digital Health, with more than 50,000 citations in scientific publications.

Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and shadow rapporteur on the Revision of the EU pharmaceutical legislation
At the European Parliament, Tomislav Sokol serves as the European People’s Party (EPP) Coordinator in the Committee on Public Health (SANT) and Vice-Coordinator in Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned and recommendations for the future (COVI). He also sits on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), among others. Currently, Sokol is the main rapporteur for the European Health Data Space and EPP shadow rapporteur for pharmaceutical legislation (regulation). Prior to Brussels, he was a member of the Croatian parliament and an assistant minister in the Ministry of Science and Education. Sokol’s areas of professional interest include the law of the European common market, as well as health, competition, social and trade law.

Executive Director of the European Patients’ Forum
Anca Toma has over 15 years of experience in European health policy working in policy advocacy, strategic communications, developing and coordinating successful pan-European advocacy campaigns. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the European Patients’ Forum. Previously, Toma spent a decade at Smoke Free Partnership, a European coalition of NGOs working to advance tobacco control for cancer and NCD prevention, prior to which she was a consultant in a public affairs and communications agency in Brussels. She began her career on the Romanian EU accession negotiations team.

Professor at the Robotics Research Group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Tom Verstraten is a professor at the Robotics Research Group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and is affiliated with Flanders Make, the strategic research centre for the manufacturing industry. He conducted research stays at TU Darmstadt (Germany) and the University of Tulsa (USA) funded by a Fulbright grant for visiting scholars. Verstraten’s work focuses on energy-efficient actuation systems for robotic prostheses, exoskeletons, and collaborative robots, with a primary focus on applications in healthcare.
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