19 June 2025

European doctors call for Critical Medicines Act to address security of supply, affordability and transparency

Ahead of the discussion in the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, our statement provides recommendations on how to improve the proposed Critical Medicines Act.

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The availability of medicines has been a long-standing challenge in the EU. National medical associations have reported that the problem of medicine shortages has become systemic across seasons and types of medicinal products, which is impacting patient safety and the practice of healthcare professionals.

The statement includes the following recommendations to improve the proposed Critical Medicines Act:

We stress the need to ensure that any public funding granted to pharmaceutical companies should go hand in hand with strong obligations regarding security of supply, affordability and transparency on the public money granted to companies. Any form of accelerated procedures applied by Member States’ authorities should follow this principle.
Procurement of medicines should go beyond price and follow non-price criteria, such as security of supply, transparency throughout the supply chain and environmental criteria.
Member States should not generally deviate from applying security of supply criteria. Exceptions should be limited to specific cases where the application of security of supply criteria would lead to disproportionate prices.
Healthcare professionals are key partners in mitigating the negative impact of shortages on patient safety and health. Doctors and other healthcare professionals should have a seat at the future Critical Medicines Alliance Coordination Group.

Read the full statement here.