Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-27-Speech-4-011"
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"en.20030327.1.4-011"2
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"Mr President, the health crisis in developing countries is unprecedented. Given the huge need for drugs, the lack of attention on the part of the pharmaceutical industry is astounding.
I particularly welcome the Commission’s initiative to set up a platform for clinical trials. It is an excellent idea to bring all the activities in the Member States and the developing countries together under one umbrella as far as possible. Individual research activities are useful, but not necessarily useful enough. Article 169 offers the perfect basis for joining forces; indeed, a united effort is exactly what the developing countries need – and also exactly what Europe itself needs.
Europe can make a difference in the world if it pulls together. Europe can address the health crisis and social distress. For this, public leadership is required, and today we see a glimmer of the public leadership that the EU should have.
I give Mr Caudron my sincere thanks for the energy with which he has handled this dossier. I support his approach and wish to raise once more the three concerns I have spoken about before now.
Firstly, we have to see to it that industry is involved in this project. This is only possible if we set up a credible programme. As it is, industry is bringing out few new products. It is a good time to set up joint projects, therefore. There must be a reasonable return on investment for industry, but the emphasis must be on the public interest, the development of affordable drugs. We must not deceive ourselves that public research institutes can manage the task alone. For this reason, we must not invest in bureaucracy, but in cooperation with the private sector, too.
Secondly, we must focus on developing specific products. We all know that a great deal needs to be done in order to combat the health crisis, but it is not necessary to fund malaria nets out of this budget, useful though they are.
Thirdly, AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are a good place to start. These three diseases claim the most victims and are spreading with devastating effect. There are, however, other diseases, such as sleeping sickness and river blindness, which have been neglected. We should be concerned about a disease like leprosy rearing its head again. New means are necessary to combat this old disease. I ask that the Commissioner and the Commission continue to give due attention to this, too.
Commissioner Busquin, I welcome the fact that the health crisis is high on your political agenda, and I also thank you for the letter you recently sent to the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy. We support this clinical trials project wholeheartedly. Europe certainly needs a flagship: a model of cooperation which bears fruit. Making this fruit visible will enable this project to act as a stimulus for joining forces in other fields, too. Europe is not doing the world justice if it does not work together, and it is not doing itself justice if it does not derive any inspiration from the cooperation in the field of clinical trials."@en1
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