Belgium calls for critical medicines toolbox to fix Europe’s weak spots

[hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.org]

Archived

Belgium has outlined key priorities for the Critical Medicines Act to ensure a resilient medicine supply across Europe. One of the main priorities is the identification of vulnerabilities within the supply chain.

“Considering the dire security situation that Europe currently finds itself in, we call upon the Commission to show a high level of ambition to safeguard Europe’s medicine supply against the eventuality of [trade] wars and public health disasters and to duly take into account the recommendations of the Alliance,” said the Belgian Federal Public Health Authorities in a joint response.

The Critical Medicines Act addresses Europe’s dependence on external suppliers and prevent medicine shortages. This work builds on Belgium’s early 2023 non-paper on supply chain security, which helped drive the creation of the Critical Medicines Alliance.

“As national policies on shortages are within the competencies of our agency, it was decided that the FAMHP would position itself in the cockpit and coordinate the work with other federal authorities such as NIHDI, FPS Public Health, and FPS Economy. But it is very much a collaborative effort,” Belgium’s Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) told Euractiv.

[...]