Patient power and the role of biotech in Europe

The new revolution in patient power was the topic of discussion at today's EuropaBio event in the European Parliament, Strasbourg, France. The event, hosted by Swedish European People's Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Christofer Fjellner, highlighted the increasingly influential role played by patients in managing their own care and recovery.

So far, more than 350 million patients have benefitted from medicines manufactured through biotechnology and gene technology to treat or prevent heart attacks, strokes, multiple sclerosis, breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, leukemia, hepatitis, diabetes and other diseases. In addition, an estimated 50% of all new medicines will originate from biotechnologies.

Roxana Radulescu, senior policy advisor for the European Patients' Forum, who spoke at the event said: 'When a person becomes a patient with a chronic disease, often, one of their worst fears is a loss of control over the way they lead their lives. Access to high quality, timely, objective information about their condition and possible treatments and support puts the patient in the driving seat and helps restore their confidence in the future. Patients across the European Union want equal access to better information and resources to be real partners in determining their care. This is what we strive for in our EPF Patients' Manifesto "150 million reasons to act.'