Joint 24th Medicines for Europe and 21st International Generic and Biosimilars Association (IGBA) Annual Conference...

The joint 24th Medicines for Europe and 21st International Generic and Biosimilars Association (IGBA) Annual Conference brought together key industry leaders and more than 200 participants in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss both challenges and opportunities for the global generic, biosimilar and value added medicines industries. Challenges relating to sustainability were debated with key experts, who shared perspectives on topics such as medicines shortages, use of data, Brexit, international regulatory cooperation, the E.U. Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) and the potential impact of antimicrobial resistance. European industry leaders outlined the period of intense preparations needed to ensure compliance by the early 2019 milestones for the FMD and Brexit. The conference also anticipated exciting opportunities for the industry and broadly welcomed the European Commission's legislative proposal for a (long-awaited and much discussed) E.U. Supplementary Protection Certificate manufacturing waiver. Medicines for Europe and IGBA are committed to supporting and strengthening such policy initiatives aimed at boosting European competitiveness, increasing investments in R+D for biosimilar medicines, and most importantly, delivering faster access to medicines for patients. The importance of not forgetting that the ultimate aim of the industry was to facilitate patient access to necessary medicines was stressed throughout the conference. As the conference took place in Hungary, László György (State Secretary for Economic Strategy and Regulation at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology) spoke about the role of technology innovation and access to medicines in the country and the role of his ministry. He indicated that the primary goal of the newly established ministry was to maintain and improve decent living conditions in the light of aging populations and enhance the competitiveness of the pharmaceutical industry, "which plays a decisive role in the Hungarian economy."