Many of the vaccines and medicines we rely on today would not exist without public funding. Universities, hospitals, research institutes and public bodies contribute every year to discoveries that later become new health technologies. Yet once those products reach the market, the institutions that helped finance them often have limited influence over critical issues such as their price, availability or who can ultimately access them.
We saw this during the COVID-19 pandemic. While some countries accumulated vaccine doses, others waited months — and in some cases years — to gain access. We continue to see similar challenges today with innovative medicines whose high prices prevent them from reaching everyone who could benefit from them. The problem is that these conversations often take place only once products are already developed. By then, many of the decisions that shape access have already been made.
That is why Salud por Derecho, together with 53 other European and international organisations, has called on the European Parliament to use the negotiations on the EU’s next research and innovation programme to introduce changes. We are asking that, whenever the European Union funds projects aimed at developing new medicines, vaccines or other health technologies, consideration is given from the outset to how those products will ultimately reach the people who need them.
This means incorporating early planning around issues that are too often left until the end of the process: how a successful product will be manufactured; what barriers could limit its availability, accessibility or affordability; and what mechanisms could help ensure it reaches more patients. If society assumes a significant share of the risk involved in developing new health technologies through public investment, we believe the benefits of that investment should also be shared more broadly.
This week, the European Parliament will debate the rules that will accompany billions of euros in public research funding over the coming years. It is an opportunity to ensure that access to medicines becomes part of the conversation from the beginning, rather than only once products are ready to enter the market.
This is the letter we have sent to European political groups:
