EU patient information gap recognized by EC, outdated rules say drugmakers

European Union regulation on pharmaceutical information to patients is outmoded and has damaging outcomes, according to speakers at the 14th annual Pharmaceuticals Conference, hosted by The Economist in London, UK.

Arthur Higgins, president of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations as well as chief executive of Germany's Bayer HealthCare, said that current health care systems are not sustainable in the long-term due to the twin pressures of an aging population and the growing burden of lifestyle-related diseases. Mr Higgins' vision of industry/patient relations in the future also included the observations that there is a "crisis in R&D," which is caused by soaring costs in the area, more complex regulation and a negative shift in risk-benefit assessments. The EFPIA president forecasts "a train wreck for health care in Europe, 10-20 years from now."

In this context, Mr Higgins argues, the long-term vision has to be for more patient choice, personalized health care and patient involvement in every aspect of the medical process, even the design of clinical trial outcomes and the directions of future R&D. In addition, he argued that there needs to be less state direction and less paternalism. "Patients will not accept being passive recipients" of health care, Mr Higgins predicted.