New EFPIA president calls for earlier access to modern medicines in Europe

At the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) annual meeting in Brussels, Belgium, the group's new president - Arthur Higgins, chairman of the board of management at Bayer HealthCare - presented his vision about the future of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe. This brought together over 350 senior executives of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe, as well as representatives of European and national policy-makers, patients organizations, healthcare professionals and international journalists.

This vision elucidates modern and sustainable health care systems in Europe, where patients have equal and early access to the best and safest medicines, which supports innovation, empowers citizens to make informed decisions about their health and ensures the highest security of the drug supply chain.

According to Mr Higgins, turning this vision into reality necessitates working in partnership with all key stakeholders, in order to enhance mutual understanding and trust, saying: "only with a new-found public trust will we be able to face the many challenges of our industry and ensure the proper conditions for our industry to thrive." During his EFPIA presidency, Mr Higgins said he will focus the industry's efforts to strengthen competitiveness around four key areas regrouped under the "AIMS" (Access, Innovation, Mobilization, Security) umbrella: