The European recovery: How pharma can drive sustainable post-pandemic growth

Richard Daniell, head of commercial at Teva Europe explores the steps needed for sustainable growth in Europe following the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Despite the arrival of vaccines, a turning of the tide in Covid-19 cases, and the recent trade deal between the United Kingdom and the EU, we’re facing down the barrel of another annus horribilis, as the continent grapples with further lockdowns, a collapse in consumer spending and addressing the threat of soaring unemployment.   

As governments seek to reignite eurozone economies with huge injections of cash, battles are likely to emerge as to whether the economic recovery should also achieve other goals, particularly around cutting climate change and shoring up European supply chains – so that we can be better prepared to weather potential future storms.

What is clear is that the Europe of tomorrow will look very different from the Europe of yesterday. The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to challenge traditional schools of thought and reconsider the status quo. 

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, many of the continent’s strengths and weaknesses have been put under the spotlight. One of the areas which has been heavily exposed was Europe’s reliance upon just-in-time delivery schedules and its ability to manufacture vaccines at scale – due to limited production capabilities. Decisions from the US and Indian governments to stockpile remdesivir and cut exports of 26 APIs, respectively sparked global shortages at a critical point in the pandemic whilst the rollout of vaccines across the continent is under strain. 

The first lesson is that we must vow to never put our healthcare systems under the strain they have weathered – and are still fighting – this past year. An important aspect raised by patients is the impact of Covid-19 on non-Covid-19 patients and their health. No patient should be left behind. Unfortunately, we have seen too many surgery appointments being cancelled, patients being afraid of seeing their doctors and not getting their treatments renewed. In a survey commissioned by Teva among the pan-European Healthcare Community, the importance to treat both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients, without compromising their health, for instance by redesigning how hospitals are structured with designated zones for both has been recommended. In the meantime, the real heroes are all the doctors, nurses, clinicians, medical professionals and hospital staff, who have worked relentlessly against the virus. And the pharmaceutical industry can really play its part. Taking just HIV and breast cancer, pharma companies saved €13 billion in healthcare costs. It is this development and investment that can truly alleviate the pressure on our hospitals and facilitate a healthier and more prosperous future. 

The second lesson we must learn is about being proud of our industry, and the importance of resilient, local supply chains and manufacturing, particularly in essential fields such as medicine. Our industry is quite like no other, it truly is a life and death situation when things go wrong. At Teva, we’re proud of our footprint in Europe – we employ almost 20,000 people across the continent. But we owe it to all 750 million Europeans to ensure that the health and wellbeing of every one of them remains our industry’s absolute number one priority. No exceptions. 

The EU’s structured dialogue that kicked off on February 26 provides a springboard to address the long-standing issue of securing predictable and sustainable supplies of medicines in Europe - keeping patients’ essential needs at the very centre of planning. We have great hope that this dialogue will lay the foundation to secure strategic manufacturing investment. It is indeed very painful to see Europe gradually losing its essential pharmaceutical production, limiting the diversity of supply, and becoming dependent upon other regions.  

The third lesson is a reminder of how vital a strong economy and job creation is to the wider eco-system of life. The pandemic has left a path of job devastation in its wake and addressing this will be key in getting Europe back on its feet. Teva’s operations in Europe contributes roughly $26 billion to the GDP of 12 EU countries but our impact as an industry is far greater than that. According to a PwC report in 2019, the pharmaceutical industry indirectly supported 2.5 million jobs in Europe, contributing €206 billion to GDP. Harnessing this impact will be crucial as we rebuild the European economy post-pandemic.

And finally, the development of the Covid-19 vaccine – led principally on a global level by the extraordinary teams at BioNTech / Pfizer, The University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, J&J, Moderna and others – is something the wider pharmaceutical industry can be truly proud of. It’s a fantastic example of what we can achieve in such a short period of time, pushing the limit of science and technology and sets the scene for future innovation. 

Pre-pandemic in 2019, the research-based pharmaceutical industry invested an estimated €3.7 billion in R&D. The level of investment in technology and future medicines showcases how seriously the industry is taking its role in not only driving Europe’s economic growth but also, its pioneering place on the world stage as a centre of excellence and innovation.

However, the red thread through all of this and one of the biggest collective challenges we face is the climate crisis. Economic growth, job creation, healthcare savings and technological innovation are all vital but will only succeed if sustainable. The Paris Agreement is not just a set of guiding principles to refer to in corporate documents; it’s a binding moral contract to imbed in the foundation of all business strategy as we move forwards and reverse the trend to give back to our environment rather than take from it. In my role leading Teva in Europe, this is paramount to our long-term success.

As with any other industry, sustainability or what we call in our jargon ESG (for Environment, Social and Governance) is now anchored at the heart of our corporate strategy as we look to focus on climate action and resilience, responsible use of natural resources and tackling emissions and waste as well as access issues.  

So, whilst the road ahead is most certainly going to be bumpy, our destination could not be clearer. As we all come together and work towards a common more prosperous goal, Europeans have reason to be proud.