Politico Europe, EU plans to boost medicines manufacturing in drug shortages bill
Europe has a plan to avert drug shortages — to make more of them and tie their contracts to their availability. The Critical Medicines Act, to be presented Tuesday afternoon in Strasbourg by European Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi and Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera, will set out plans on medicines procurement, subsidies for drug production and forging new global partners to avoid supply dependencies. … At the heart of the European Commission’s proposal is an overhaul of procurement rules so that countries don’t simply opt for the cheapest available product and instead prioritize security of supply, according to a draft of the document, obtained by POLITICO on Monday.
[cross-posted with thanks from Megan Whiteman/Public Citizen, covid-19-access listserv. WB]