Unfair discrimination on access to medicines

The current crisis has shown how crucial it is for us to take care of our wellbeing and although COVID-19 may currently be our main priority, we must not forget the countless other illnesses and conditions that require daily treatment even during a pandemic.

We have learnt how crucial it is to use all available resources to tackle the health crisis and this principle carries over in the battle against all illnesses.

It is for this reason that I have sent an urgent question to the European Commission and a cross-parliamentary letter in an effort to pressure the Commission to ensure that small member states, such as Malta and their citizens, have access to affordable pharmaceutical products.

The current EU rules create unfair discrimination against member states with smaller health systems and pharmaceutical markets, such as Malta. The decision to effectively place a product on the member states’ markets is solely based on the pharmaceutical companies’ commercial and economic interests. While the current legislation provides the industry with the right to place their products on the markets of all member states, there is no mirroring right entitling the member states to get access to those products that have been authorised and placed on the EU Single Market.

It is a known fact that unfortunately private companies often have no interest or incentive to place a medicinal product in the small Member States, such as our own country. This situation creates difficulty in accessing affordable medicines for Maltese patients, higher prices , and often even the withdrawal of particular products. This scenario which is faced by multiple states has resulted in a long-standing structural problem and most member states have joined regional groupings like the Valletta Declaration to try and combat this issue.

Countries like Malta and Cyprus have become strongly dependent upon the supply of medicine from and through the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, with the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, Malta and others in a similar situation face an immediate problem of access and shortages to pharmaceutical and medicinal products. We are aware of the fact that shortages of medicines can undermine countries’ health systems, and this is something which we must avoid, especially in the middle of a pandemic.

Pure economic and market forces should not drive access to medicinal products.

The European Pillar of Social Rights states that ‘Everyone has the right to timely access to affordable, preventive, and curative health care of good quality.’ Unfortunately, this is not possible without access to affordable medicines.

If a product is authorised in the Single Market, it should be available in all member states and Maltese citizens should not be deprived or refused access to medicinal products. I’ve called upon the Commission to ensure that these products are placed on the market of all member states within a reasonable time, and it should be done in a fair and transparent manner. The Commission should also address the shortage and the continuity of supply and access to affordable medicines in the smaller markets.

Together we can send a clear message to our citizens and create a genuine Single Market for pharmaceuticals to ensure that the supply of affordable medicine across the EU is genuinely provided to all member states and all EU citizens. Let us stop the current situation where states are punished because of their size and establish a system where everyone has the right to timely access to affordable, preventive, and curative health care of good quality.