Civil society and industry asked to help bloc with manufacturing innovations and supply chains
The EU has launched an open call for participants to join a group intended to ensure that important medicines are made available to everyone in the bloc who needs them.
The Critical Medicines Alliance is being formed by the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, which was set up within the European Commission during the Covid-19 pandemic to help the EU respond to that health crisis and future ones.
The alliance, which is set to last for five years, will seek to bring together national governments, industry and civil society to identify challenges and solutions, for example around innovations in the manufacture of medicines and how to diversify materials supply chains.
Announcing the call on 16 January, EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides described the formation of the alliance as “the beginning of a concerted push to bolster and modernise the production of critical medicines in the EU”.
Relevant stakeholders are encouraged to express their interest on the alliance’s website, with a deadline of 16 February.