Council Of Europe Issues Resolution, Questions Current IP System For Pharmaceutical Products

On 29 September, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on how to safeguard the public interest against the interests of the pharmaceutical industry.

Resolution 2071 titled “Public health and the interests of the pharmaceutical industry: how to guarantee the primacy of public health interests?” calls on member states to apply rules to limit rising prices and conflicts of interest.

The resolution recognises that the pharmaceutical industry has played and is playing an “indisputable role” in medical advances, by “investing massively in research and development for new medicines.”

Conflicts of interest have been of concern between the pharmaceutical industry and health sector stakeholders, the resolution says, explicitly referring to the handling of the H1N1 influenza pandemic (resolution 1749 of 2010).

“By means of a self-regulation policy, the pharmaceutical industry is now adopting a much more ethical approach and legislation lays down rules in this area. However, self-regulation is not binding and the implementation of legislation leaves much to be desired,” according to the resolution.

The innovation model based on intellectual property protection on molecules developed by pharmaceutical companies “has led to the discovery of thousands of medicines,” it said. “However, more and more voices are now being heard arguing that this is not the optimal approach in public health matters.”

The resolution says that in recent years, very few new medicines have been placed on the market which present “a real therapeutic benefit satisfying real health needs.” The cost of research and development (R&D) remains opaque and disputed as prices of medicines take a sharp rise up, it says, citing prices of cancer and hepatitis C treatments, and their burden on public health systems.

The Assembly called on the Council of Europe member states, in particular, to:

“- Incorporate into the curriculum for health-care professionals specific, mandatory training to foster awareness of the influence of pharmaceutical promotion and how to respond;

– Place an obligation on pharmaceutical companies to declare their linked interests with all health sector players, to make these declarations accessible to the public, and to establish an independent authority responsible for monitoring this matter;

– Introduce strict regulations governing the movement from a position in the public sector to one in the private sector (and vice versa), between the health authorities and the pharmaceutical industry;

– With regard to research and development for new therapeutic molecules, to oblige pharmaceutical companies to ensure absolute transparency regarding the real costs of research and development, particularly in relation to the public research portion”