The Forum
provides the overall political
oversight for the process. The
main role of the Forum is to
provide strategic direction to
the different work streams of
the new strategy. It is also
designed to provide a political
mandate and momentum for the
process and a platform for
discussion on competitiveness
and related public health
issues.
The Forum is chaired
jointly by Commissioner
Kyprianou and Vice-President
Verheugen. Ministers from each
Member State are invited. In
addition to Member States,
three representatives from the
European Parliament are
members. The remaining
membership is made up of senior
representatives from industry
and other stakeholders:
- European Federation of
Pharmaceutical Industries &
Associations
- European Generic
medicines Association
- European
Self-Medication Industry
- European Association
for Bioindustries (EuropaBio)
- European Association
of Full-Line Wholesalers
- European Patients
Forum
- Standing Committee of
European Doctors
- Pharmaceutical Group
of the European Union
(community pharmacists)
- Association
Internationale de la Mutualité
- European Social
Insurance Platform.
Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen
and Commissioner Markos Kyprianou co-chaired the ministerial
level Pharmaceutical Forum on 29 September 2006 in Brussels.
The meeting was attended by national health ministers, MEPs
and various stakeholders.
The first Forum meeting discussed the issues dealt with
by the three Working Groups that has been established:
Improving information on medicines to patients, finding a balance
between rewarding innovation, value for money and access to
medicines in pricing and reimbursement policies, and quicker
access to effective medicines through relative effectiveness policies.
Following the discussions, the Forum adopted the Progress Report
and its conclusions. These conclusions provide a direction for the future work within the Working Groups.
