Company Members Being Considered By EFPIA

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations, whichhas as its members the national pharmaceutical industry bodies of 16 European countries which in turn cover the interests of some 2,200 drugmakers, is said currently to be considering the possibilities of allowing some individual drugmakers to become direct members.

Commenting to the Marketletter on the move, EFPIA director general Brian Ager said that the issue is "under active discussion," and a decision would most likely be taken at the association's annual assembly at end-June. Any decision on this, he added, is "important for industry cohesion and coherence."

Industry Strongly Against Human Cloning Separately, the EFPIA has said that the European drug industry shares the strong concerns that have emerged as a result of the cloning of an adult sheep (Marketletter March 3), and urges that cloning human beings should be prohibited by law, as it already is in many individual European Union states.