[Pharmaceuticals: a strategic national industry]

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical industry
• Drug development
• Regulatory affairs

Context:

• French National Academy of Medicine's working group
• Consultations with major pharmaceutical companies (5 French, 2 foreign)
• Assessment of pharmaceutical industrial strategy and national autonomy

Purpose:

• Analyze challenges facing the French pharmaceutical industry
• Identify barriers to drug development and approval
• Evaluate the industry's strategic importance to the national economy

Summary:

• Drug approval processes are lengthy and economically influenced.
• Public and private research face insufficiency and procedural hurdles.
• The industry contends with political instability and underrecognition of its strategic value.

Impact:

• Recommendations for national priority status, multi-annual contracts, and facilitated clinical trials.
• Calls for reinforced industry-research links and an inter-ministerial council.
• Findings applicable to both human and veterinary medicines.