Gastein health conference gets underway

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By DOMINIC GIANNINI

with CLAUDIA CHIAPPA

PRESENTED BY

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— Clemens Martin Auer, president of the European Health Forum Gastein, calls for more action ahead of a four-day health conference. 

— The health committee wants action on rare diseases and cancer, as watered-down wording over alcohol spurred controversy. 

— U.S. tariffs of up to 100% on pharmaceuticals and their ingredients are set to kick in.

Welcome to Tuesday’s Morning Health Care! It’s the first day of Gastein and Claudia and I will be here all week, so we’re going to need gossip to survive. There are rumors about a place where people dance in a cage to let their hair down; if you know anything, do tell. What happens in Gastein …

Get in touch: cchiappa@politico.eu, dgiannini@politico.eu. Follow us on X: @chiappa_claudia,@domgiannini_  

A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, A LITTLE MORE ACTION: The slow implementation and inefficiency of health policy across Europe is hampering the bloc’s ability to respond to major challenges like climate change, health security, AI and workforce issues, says Clemens Martin Auer, the president of the European Health Forum Gastein. Europe doesn’t have a lack of ideas or technical skills to tackle major problems facing the sector, but rather an implementation problem, he told Morning Health Care in an interview ahead of his last conference as head of the forum, with his final day on Oct. 31. “The older I get, the more impatient I am with the slowness of our policy implementations,” he said.

More action needed: As health experts, industry representatives, and everyone in between descend on Gastein, Austria, for a four-day health conference, Auer is calling for more action. “We are living in really challenging times, and my observation is that we don’t do enough to change the situation.”

Pharma: Capricious U.S. health policies, including a push by the Trump administration to reduce domestic drug prices (more on this below), were creating global uncertainty and impacting where drugmakers were investing, Auer said, pointing to increasing investment in China. Health systems in Europe could only be counterbalanced if countries were willing to pay more for products like generics to shore up supply chains, he said. “If you want to safeguard that supply, then you have to be willing to pay more for them.” His comments come as the pharma industry is set to play a major role at the conference across multiple panels, with U.S. policies and European drug prices running as an undercurrent in most major discussions on health security, accessibility, and competitiveness.

Competitiveness: Auer pointed to the Draghi report, which proposed a plan to increase competitiveness more than two years ago. “ Do we see any implementation, substantial implementation? The economic numbers and data are getting worse.”

Health security: Auer also expressed frustration at a lack of action to address the threat to health infrastructure. He called for intelligence sharing and greater cooperation between the defense and health sectors, including shoring up pharmaceutical supply chains to reduce reliance on external sources. “The face of war is changing, the means of war are changing,” he said, pointing to hybrid warfare like cyberattacks and drones. “The security people have to share the information with the health sector, and the health sector has to be open to take it on, act accordingly and put up their measures for more security.”

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SANT ADOPTS CANCER REPORT: Lawmakers in the public health committee on Monday adopted a report on cancer, calling for dedicated funding in the next multiannual financial framework, action on prevention, and equal access to cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment across the EU.

Rocky negotiations: The report was at the center of controversy over its language on alcohol. “When it comes to cancer, there is no safe level of alcohol consumption,” said the Association of European Cancer Leagues. “By referring to ‘levels exceeding scientifically established health recommendations’, the report implies there is a safe threshold. That is misleading.”

Rare diseases vote: MEPs want a dedicated law to improve rare cancer diagnosis, ensure equal access to treatment, and place greater emphasis on patient care, with 33 votes in favor, three against, and five abstentions on a legislative initiative resolution in the health committee. Rare diseases affect tens of millions of people across Europe, with three in four of those living with one being children. The committee’s recommendations and legislative initiative report will be tabled for a vote at the next European Parliament plenary. You can read the full details of the committee’s plan here.  

MORE ALCOHOL DRAMA: Civil society groups are calling out a European Parliament event on the role of wine in health policy, which they say is “inappropriate” and poorly timed as it coincides with World Heart Day. 

Context: The event, taking place today, is organized by the European Committee of Wine Companies and Socialists & Democrats MEP Dario Nardella. It brings together lawmakers, industry and researchers “to explore how the latest scientific evidence can better inform policymaking and contribute to a more nuanced discussion on the role of wine as part of a healthy lifestyle.”

But to civil societies, it sends the wrong message: “Civil society organisations working to reduce alcohol-related harm in Europe object to events like this, which give commercial interests a seat at the agenda-setting table of EU public health policy,” they wrote in a statement.

Not the time: They also criticize the timing of the event on World Heart Day. “European public health organisations consider it wholly inappropriate that an MEP would give the alcohol industry a platform in a health policy debate, particularly on a day dedicated to raising awareness of cardiovascular disease and its prevention,” they add.

Encouraging an open discussion: “Today’s event brings scientists together to discuss evidence on health, diet and longevity, and this kind of debate strengthens prevention,” Nardella told Morning Health Care. “Good public policy needs to be proportionate and evidence-based, and it should distinguish between harmful consumption and moderate consumption within a balanced lifestyle and a traditional food culture like ours. Moderation is the key to the consumption of everything, not just alcohol.” He added that the event falling on World Heart Day was a coincidence. 

Coincidence? “On World Heart Day, I would argue this debate is particularly relevant, not inappropriate … an open and transparent dialogue with all relevant stakeholders is an important part of a whole-of-society approach to health,” said Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, secretary general of the European Committee of Wine Companies.

Signed: The statement is signed by the Association of European Cancer Leagues, the European Alcohol Policy Alliance, the European Health Alliance on Alcohol, the European Heart Network and the Standing Committee of European Doctors.

WHILE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT HEART HEALTH: The Commission announced Monday it adopted a proposal for a Council recommendation to tackle cardiovascular diseases, which are Europe’s biggest killer, claiming 1.7 million lives a year. The recommendations include more health checks; tackling health inequality by ensuring checks are available and affordable; and encouraging member states to consider personalized prevention and appropriate vaccination advice. Health literacy was also an important tool for empowering Europeans to better understand the value of regular check-ups, the Commission said. The full details are here.

D-DAY (AGAIN): Section 232 U.S. tariffs of up to 100% on pharmaceuticals and their ingredients come into effect today for companies that haven’t struck deals with the Trump administration. These deals secure temporary tariff-free access for their products and ingredients while also imposing price controls in the U.S. These so-called most-favored-nation deals also bring U.S. prices for some branded medicines roughly in line with European prices. 

Most exposed: Mid-sized European biotech and specialty pharma companies that haven’t signed agreements are the most exposed, according to Diederik Stadig, a health care economist at Dutch bank ING. A handful of biotechs signed agreements last month, bringing the total number of agreements to 26 — so we could expect to see more deals land.

The small print: EU-origin medicines will face a 15% tariff cap under the EU-U.S. Turnberry deal. 

Solutions needed: EUCOPE’s Secretary General, Alexander Natz, said there needed to be a sustainable transatlantic solution that safeguarded patient access, investment, and innovation to avoid further trade escalation. Pharma tariffs and the medicine pricing debate “has very real consequences for companies and patients,” he told Morning Health Care. “MFN agreements may provide certainty for individual manufacturers, but they do not resolve the broader challenges facing the European pharmaceutical ecosystem.”

Meanwhile: Generic and biosimilar manufacturers are exempt from all U.S. tariffs that have so far impacted the medicines sector. Adrian van den Hoven, head of generics lobby Medicines for Europe, said tariffs on medicines were counterproductive and called for off-patent medicines to remain exempt. 

He pointed out: “Medicines for Europe’s analysis shows that for almost 700 active pharmaceutical ingredients approved in the U.S., Europe is the sole supplier, underlining the importance of maintaining open trade in medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients.”

Remember: A standard zero-tariff rate was agreed upon by World Trade Organization members more than three decades ago for ethical reasons. 

And: This comes as the Council of the EU adopted a pharma package aimed at improving patients’ access to medicines and boosting competitiveness. The package includes eight years of data protection for companies that bring new medicines to market, granting them exclusive rights to pre-clinical tests and clinical trials. You can read the full details here. 

WE MEET AGAIN: Shadow rapporteurs will meet to discuss the Biotech Act as they search for compromise amendments on controversial issues like patent extensions. Officials have been meeting for weeks to comb through the legislation line by line and cut through some 3,000 proposed amendments.  

Not what we wanted: The meeting brings together industry representatives, experts and European Commission officials for panels on supplementary protection certificates, clinical trial regulations and financing. But some MEPs aren’t happy that the roundtables are being offered in lieu of an independent study.

But, but, but: Although one official previously told us that the EPRS had considered commissioning an external assessment; however, no one had signed off on a tender due to the timeframe and complexity. Catch up on the full story here.

It’s not just some MEPs who raised questions: Civil society groups have criticized the organizers for not including their voices on the panel. “Sidelining civil society, who would be most affected by the new SPC rules, has left us perplexed,” said Ancel·la Santos Quintano, head of one health at BEUC. “Consumer organisations are happy to engage in the discussions about fairer alternatives to measures that risk delaying the arrival of cheaper medicines on the market, instead of playing gooseberry.”

Unfair: A Parliament official told Morning Health Care that it is a “bit unfair to complain,” and that the organizers needed to be more selective due to time concerns. “Given that the panels only last for one hour each, we couldn’t include all organisations that have an opinion on the issue,” they said. “We’ve always tried to create a very broad spectrum to touch every angle possible.”

Our turn next: “European doctors hope the European Parliament will provide an equally meaningful opportunity for civil society to share its views on the development of the Biotech Act,” said Sarada Das, secretary-general of the Standing Committee of European Doctors. 

Reuters: Congo’s Ebola outbreak has eclipsed 8,000 cases.

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