Patients in Europe becoming more concerned with how medicines are made

Patients across Europe are becoming more concerned with just how their medicines are being developed, according to a new survey from the pharmaceutical company Teva.

Teva asked 3,000 patients with chronic conditions from France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Croatia and the Czech Republic about how important issues including sustainability, competitiveness, and the supply chain are to them.

The research points to more people taking a greater interest in Europe’s role in medicine manufacturing following the Covid-19 pandemic. It shows that seven in 10 patients want to know where their drugs are made as the pandemic has exposed weaknesses in the supply chain of global medicine production.

To support countries’ medicine production, 84% of those surveyed said they’d like their government to support pharmaceutical manufacturing investments to avoid over-dependencies on countries outside of Europe.

With a large majority of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) being developed in Asia, Europe has lost its leadership position in API manufacturing in the off-patent generics sector  – especially for essential drugs like paracetamol.

Teva says the findings point to a need to rebalance the global pharmaceutical so patients in every region around the world have reliable access to medicines.

Richard Daniell, executive vice president for Teva in Europe, said: “The jolt of the pandemic acts as a wake-up call that the growing imbalance of the global pharmaceutical value chain cannot continue.

Patients now really care about where their medicines are made.  In the same way that “food miles” have become a key concern among consumers in recent years, patients now want to know more about “medicine miles” when it comes to the treatments they take.”

Almost three quarters (73%) of those surveyed think the pharmaceutical industry is strategically important for Europe as we move out of the pandemic, because it can ensure stability and reliability of medicine supplies

The environment was highlighted as a top concern for patients, with 65% wanting medicines to be made in a way that’s environmentally sustainable.

In addition, more than half (55%) of patients see the benefits of drugs manufactured in Europe linked to the potential of transport reduction-related environmental impact. And over a third (35%) of people think Europe guarantees greener production and respect for environmental regulations than overseas manufacturing.

Following the pandemic, the study found 85% of patients see the pharmaceutical industry as crucial to driving recovery. People cited jobs creation and supporting the local economy as the top benefit for promoting medicine manufacture in Europe (57%), closely followed by a desire for better access to essential drugs and reducing reliance on overseas supply (56%).

Furthermore, more than 70% of European patients want to see Europe remain as competitive as other regions and expect their government to take action to support this.

Richard Daniell added: “Europe’s unhealthy over-reliance on overseas active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing has been exposed by the closure of factories and borders. But nationalistic approaches don’t work in such a highly connected and interdependent area as modern medicine supply. Europe must adjust its policies to new economic and technological realities, while expanding its competitiveness and geopolitical position by remaining open and attracting investments.

"What’s enlightening about this research is that patients are waking up to these issues and demanding change. 

“The race to the lowest-price generic has to stop and Europe’s rather inflexible and old-fashioned regulatory regime should be modernised to keep Europe in the race to attract pharmaceutical investments to produce critical APIs and generic medicines.

“With the needs of patients at its heart, a new equilibrium also stands to improve Europe’s resilience as well as delivering a significant economic contribution to the region.  There is an opportunity to seize this watershed moment and build a better ecosystem in which a stronger pharmaceutical manufacturing presence in Europe can complement the rest of the global supply chain.”