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Portuguese Presidency promotes the EU's commitment to healthcare biotechnology

23 Nov 2007 - EuropaBio congratulates the Portuguese Presidency and Infarmed, the Portuguese national authority of medicines and health products, for their initiative to focus on innovation's benefits for patients at the conference 'Pharmaceutical Innovation: the need for a new R&D strategy in the European Union', held in Viseu, Portugal this week.
 
Innovation is, and must continue to be, an important factor in Europe's search for sustainable healthcare to meet unmet medical needs. The Portuguese presidency Conference marks an important milestone in promoting a patient-centered healthcare system based on science and progress in medicines rather than focusing only on short-term cost containment policies. EuropaBio, in welcoming this initiative, calls on the Slovenian and French presidencies to progress this agenda based on the participation of political leaders, regulators, patients, academia, investors and industry. The role of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in generating scientific knowledge and in translating these innovative therapies for patients has been clearly highlighted in the field of cell and tissue replacement as well as in gene therapy. The key role of SMEs and their collaboration with both universities and larger healthcare companies was discussed in-depth as an opportunity to accelerate the understanding of the causes of disease and the opportunities of the next generation of treatments and therapies.
 
EuropaBio's Healthcare Council Chair, Dr. Andrea Rappagliosi, stated "On Behalf of EuropaBio's Members, I am very pleased that the Portuguese presidency created this opportunity to discuss ways to better integrate scientific knowledge into therapies'' development and therefore facilitate patient access to innovative therapies which remain the common goal of regulators, access authorities and industry.
 
"In order to maintain and strengthen leadership and excellence in scientific research" - continued Dr. Rappagliosi - "there is the need to realize a predicable and sustainable system in Europe which rewards progress in medicine along the entire innovation chain, from concept to patient. We count on the Slovenian and French presidencies to push this dialogue forward."
 
"Our companies need predictability and urgency in the product approval process," said EuropaBio's Secretary General Johan Vanhemelrijck. "I was happy to see that the struggle for our companies, including SMEs, to bring a treatment to market was recognized in the conference."