Access to Medicines & Shortages

CPME Rapporteur: Dr Christiaan KEIJZER (NL), Dr Jacqueline Rossant-Lumbroso (FR)
CPME Secretariat: Mr Diogo TEIXEIRA PEREIRA

Availability and affordability of medicines are a priority for CPME. Shortages of medicines can have a serious negative impact on public health. Deteriorating availability of many medicines on the European market poses a risk to health of patients and creates burden for doctors and other healthcare professionals with workforce being occupied with having to find suitable alternative treatments for their patients.

Doctors need earlier notifications of shortages. The security of supply could be further improved by ensuring that pharmaceutical companies have robust shortages prevention and mitigation plans in place. In the next EU mandate, the ongoing revision of the general pharmaceutical legislation and a possible Critical Medicines Act provide opportunities to offer solutions.

CPME is member of the EMA Healthcare Professionals Working Party and also of the WHO Novel Medicines Platform and its subgroup on transparency.