European drugmakers call for faster trials, more spending to compete with US, China
XLV•Industry says Europe is losing ground to the US and China
The chairs said about 40% of new therapies never reach European patients, adding that the bloc's share of global drug research and development had fallen to 31% from 43% in 1990. Its share of commercial clinical trials had halved to 9% in the last decade.
The drugmakers' warnings are the latest sign of frustration in boardrooms over European systems and policies that move more slowly than in the US and China, which attract billions of dollars more in pharmaceutical investments.
Europe spends some 1% of GDP on pharmaceuticals, compared with 2% in the United States and 1.8% in China.
Amsterdam-based healthcare lawyer Ron Lanton said that while Europe still has "extraordinary scientific capabilities", companies are increasingly planning around much more aggressive US policies, which have already forced companies to rethink investments, launches and prices.
"Europe's pharmaceutical competitiveness problem is not just about R&D funding. Companies are looking at the entire pathway from clinical trials to reimbursement and patient access when deciding where to put capital."
