European Alliance for Responsible R&D and Affordable Medicines

Why?

“In Europe and worldwide, the price of new medicines is rising year on year, especially where there is no therapeutic alternative. As a result, treatment for life-threatening infections and diseases, like HIV/AIDS, cancer and hepatitis C, are increasingly unaffordable for both individuals and national health systems. This is the result of an ineffective and costly research and development (R&D) system that rewards new medicines with fixed-term monopolies (patents) and encourages unaffordable price setting. This patent-based system grants pharmaceutical companies’ monopolies, which allow them to charge exorbitant prices totally unconnected to the cost of developing and manufacturing the medicines. Urgent measures must be taken to ensure that people can afford the medicines they need. At the same time, new models of R&D must be engaged to meet therapeutic needs.”

What?

Started in 2014, the European Alliance for Responsible R&D and Affordable Medicines is a civil society coalition gathering consumer, patient and public health organisations calling for the creation of an R&D system that is driven by public health needs and delivers medicines that are universally accessible and affordable. Read the Alliance Joint Declaration

With whom?

The Alliance consists of European and national consumer, patient and public health organisations. “The Alliance is supported by the work of its members as well as by the financial contributions from the Open Society Foundations and the European Public Health Alliance.”

How?

Members exchange information on policy developments, advocacy approaches and join forces in joint statements and letters.

For what outcome?

• “New medicines that are safe, effective and offer real therapeutic progress.
• Relevant data is available in the public domain so it can be independently and transparently assessed.
• Pharmaceutical R&D is not be driven by monopoly protection, which results in high medicine prices.
• Pharmaceutical R&D results in public goods and medicines that are needed and affordable.

The pharmaceutical policy process is transparent and developed in consultation with independent stakeholders to avoid conflicts of interest.”