A pharmaceutical industrial strategy for Europe

At a 10 September Friends of Europe debate, audience members and panellists held a collective brainstorm on what the pharmaceutical sector needs from an industrial strategy to respond to future challenges. “Industry has to adapt to changing expectations – we want them to play a role in meeting societal challenges like climate change, demographic shifts and improving human rights”, Tamsin Rose, moderator and Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe, said.

The event explored how the new EU industrial policy could support a pharmaceutical sector that is connected and competitive, ensuring accessible and affordable medicines for Europeans. And it was held at a key time – literally minutes after Commission President-Elect Ursula von der Leyen announced the list of new Commissioners to take office on 1 November.

For Laura Gutierrez, Vice-President for Public Affairs for Europe at Sanofi, the EU should focus on regulatory frameworks for up-and-coming technologies and data collection. On handling data, she maintained that “we are very limited in what we can do as one company. How can Europe pool data resources? This is key to getting more efficient healthcare systems.”

Daria Tataj, Strategy Adviser and Chair of the Research, Innovation and Science (RISE) High-Level Expert Group at the European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (RTD), agreed, saying that “implementation of policies on open data and digitalisation is a core element to focus on.” Leveraging clusters of innovation and making them open to everyone is also high on the list. “It is all about connecting two parallel activities: the ability to innovate and the ability to network. A third step consists of connecting those two abilities to create value.”

For that reason, Tataj supports the mission-oriented approach in Horizon Europe: “Working around missions emphasises that boosting both knowledge and connectivity is imperative.”

Marcel Haag, Head of the Directorate for Jobs, Growth and Investment at the European Commission Secretariat-General, maintained that the upcoming industrial strategy for Europe must get the balance right between the importance of competition and collaboration. “We have to ensure that the benefits of cooperation outweigh the risks of collusion between competitors.”

Looking at the fact that emerging markets are taking over the incumbents in terms of innovative companies, Tataj insisted that “there is only one way to transform systems: you need to attract top talent. European policy should support transformative local leaders who can mobilise resources from the bottom up.”

Gutierrez agreed that transformation of companies and skills is paramount: “We need to create the right skills,” she told the Brussels meeting. “We always say this, but we cannot emphasise it enough.”

Haag concluded by inviting the life sciences sector to engage with the process of the new EU industrial strategy: “We will be best served if you inform us of what you need to ensure that we have a state-of-the-art, inclusive health system in Europe.”

Rose welcomed this challenge: “This is an invitation from the Commission for the health community to get its act together and say what it needs to thrive and to be competitive and sustainable in future.”

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