Fina Lladós: ‘We have before us a unique opportunity in these legislative developments to transform our healthcare and prepare it for the next 20 years’.

“It is essential to see medicines and healthcare as an economically and socially very profitable investment for Spain. An investment that generates very important benefits in the medium and long term in the health aspect, of course, but also in the social and economic sphere, as it has a positive impact on sectors of great value for the country.

‘In the current context of uncertainty, we need a stable regulatory framework to boost investment and the development of medicines, a strategic and vital asset for society,’ said the president of Farmaindustria on Wednesday at the New Economy Forum, held in Madrid.

Farmaindustria.esThe president of Farmaindustria, Fina Lladós Canela, defended on Wednesday the need for a stable regulatory framework that promotes innovation, strengthens Europe’s strategic autonomy and guarantees rapid and equitable access to innovative medicines in Spain. In a global context marked by uncertainty, the president of Farmaindustria stressed the importance of managing these challenges in order to protect patients and consolidate the strategic nature of this sector. “We are at a time when our country can become an international hub for drug research and production. We are already a leading country in clinical research, and in production, our more than 100 plants manufacturing medicines for human use make us one of the European countries with the greatest manufacturing potential at a time when medicines have proven to be a strategic and security asset for States”, she said during her speech this morning at the New Economy Forum’s Health Forum, held in Madrid, an event at which the General Manager of Amgen in Spain was introduced by the Secretary of State for Health, Javier Padilla.

“We are at a moment of opportunity with many regulatory reforms underway that affect medicines and that could shape the future of healthcare and the sector and its impact on the country in the coming years. This is also an excellent opportunity for long-term transformation. We have before us a unique opportunity in these legislative developments to transform our healthcare and prepare it for the next 20 years”, he stressed.

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On this point, he pointed out that medicines are a strategic and vital asset for the well-being of society and should not be considered as a public expenditure item, but rather as an investment strategy. ‘In the short term, investment in medicines aims to strengthen the health of the population, but in the medium and long term they contribute to the sustainability of the welfare state,’ he stressed.

Turbulent international scene

The president of Farmaindustria alluded to the turbulent international panorama and, specifically, to the consequences for the sector of potential tariffs of 25% that the US could impose on European pharmaceutical products. This measure, if implemented, would increase the production costs of these products in Europe by 30 billion euros and could jeopardise 85% of investments in long-term assets, such as buildings, land, machinery and equipment, and 50% of investment in R&D in Europe. ‘In total, it would put more than 100 billion euros of investment at risk in the period 2025-2029 in the EU,’ he said. ‘These tariffs would directly affect patients, health systems and industry, weakening Europe’s competitiveness vis-à-vis the US and China’. Lladós proposed strengthening intellectual property in the EU to attract investment to the continent and called for a dialogue between the European Commission and the US to mitigate these risks. “It is necessary for the European Commission to dialogue with the US government to negotiate a solution and mitigate risks. It is time to invest in innovation and in the production of medicines in Europe”.

This whole scenario,‘ said the president of Farmaindustria, ’comes at a time when the EU is losing competitiveness against the US and China, which has led, for example, to a reduction in the number of clinical trials by half in the last 10 years in our continent. “In this field, Spain is one of the world leaders, but it is beginning to feel how incentives from other regions are threatening its leading position.

Lladós stressed that the most effective way to boost investment in the EU is by strengthening intellectual property rights (PDR) within our European borders. ‘In this way, with a strong signal of commitment to innovation and the economic and strategic impact it has for European citizens, we would be attracting investment to the continent in a positive and constructive way,’ he said.

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The Pharmaceutical Industry Strategy, a key opportunity

On a national level, the president of Farmaindustria has positively assessed the Pharmaceutical Industry Strategy 2024-2028, approved in December by the Government, which positions the sector as a strategic pillar for the country. This plan focuses on consolidating Spain’s leadership in biomedical R&D, strengthening the productive fabric and improving access to innovation.

‘This Strategy is a very favourable framework, although the important thing will be how it is developed in the legislative measures, which are the ones that will have a transcendental impact on the value of this plan’. However, at this point he expressed his concern about the recent approval by the Council of Ministers of the first round of the Draft Bill on Medicines and Medical Devices, which is currently in the period of allegations.

According to Lladós, it is a draft bill with a text that goes into great detail on short-term savings policies that reduce public spending, and there is an opportunity to define the long-term vision: “It is essential to see medicines and healthcare as an economically and socially very profitable investment for Spain. An investment that generates very important benefits in the medium and long term in the health aspect, of course, but also in the social and economic sphere, as it has a positive impact on other sectors of great value for the country.

Furthermore,‘ he stressed, ’the text has the opportunity to reflect important concepts derived from the moment of biomedical and technological transformation that we are experiencing: a commitment to R&D, the adoption of new digital tools, data science, big data and artificial intelligence, and the search for the open strategic autonomy that Europe needs through a clear reinforcement of the productive fabric”.

Lladós also highlighted the unanimous view of all the sector’s employers’ associations to modify one of the proposed models contained in the Draft Bill, the system of selected prices proposed for off-patent medicines. Farmaindustria will also propose a reform of the financing and pricing model to ensure that new medicines reach patients within 180 days, and 90 days for the accelerated financing of medicines for rare, serious or incapacitating diseases for which there is no alternative treatment.

An outstretched hand for collaboration

To conclude, Fina Lladós expressed the Association’s full collaboration with the Ministry of Health to continue to develop the initial proposal for this Law. “From Farmaindustria we are going to be proactive, using collective intelligence to work on the law for the next 20 years, in which we must all take our share of responsibility and we will always be at the Ministry’s disposal. Because we want this law, this opportunity that we have been given, to serve to adapt the world of medicines to the technological revolution that is already upon us, to improve the health of citizens and to promote a strategic sector for this country. Let us not miss this wonderful opportunity,” he concluded.