For ensuring stable supply chains and a strong European pharmaceutical industry.

The European Commission called for a Critical Medicines Alliance on 16 January. This will create "a new industrial pillar for the European Health Union". It will not be created to last forever. The project - i.e. a network comprising the European Commission, national governments and local authorities, industry and civil society - is initially scheduled to run for five years. Interested parties - especially stakeholders from the pharmaceutical industry and the public healthcare sector - have until 24 February to join the alliance via this web page. Subsequent accessions are not excluded.

Overall target: the strategic autonomy of the EU

This alliance comes as no surprise. It was announced in October last year in the European Commissions communication about combating shortages in medicinal products within the EU as a medium and long-term measure for securing the supply of medicines and combating drug shortages. Its focus is on particularly important - critical - medicines. The European Commission published a list of them on 12 December last year (see DSV News 12/2023 as well). This new network should enable targeted consultations to be held between its members and find suitable solutions to the problems. This means that existing problems must be identified, and suitable measures must also be determined to eliminate them. The relevant contact partners will all sit "at the same table" in this alliance. They will be expected to provide recommendations and advice for faster manufacturing, contractual or financing solutions, which will ultimately contribute to greater strategic autonomy for the European Union (EU) as well.

... and medicines with weak points in their supply chains

The initial meeting of the Critical Medicines Alliance is planned for the end of April. A work plan should be adopted during this meeting. Then it goes to the working groups. The European Commission is currently analysing the critical medicinal products with the greatest vulnerabilities in the supply chain.

Also in focus: the industry

Creating the Critical Medicines Alliance means that the European Health Union, which was conceptually launched in November 2020 with a package of three legislative proposals for expanding the EU's framework for health security and has been continuously expanded since then, will have another industry-focused module added to it. This new initiative is also about strengthening the EU's pharmaceutical industry, in addition to avoiding shortages and increasing supply reliability.