On 28 January 2009, Erika Mann and the German Association of Pharmaceutical Parallel Distributors (VAD) hosted a Dinner Debate in the European Parliament to discuss the Commission’s legislative proposal on combating counterfeit medicines and its implications for parallel trade. The event gathered a range of representatives from the European Parliament and the European Commission as well as Health attachés.

“We are very pleased to see that the issue attracts this much interest. A lot of rumours circulate about parallel trade. The debate this evening, however, has shown that parallel trade provides patients with safe and affordable medicines. From the industry’s perspective, the Commission’s proposal on how to secure the legal supply chain is consequently a very reasonable approach”, commented Edwin Kohl, President of the VAD.

Sabine Atzor, DG Enterprise and Industry Pharmaceutical Unit, commented on the proposed changes in legislation from the Commission’s perspective. She emphasised that a harmonised approach and legal certainty are necessary in order to make the supply chain more secure and protect public health. Following the Commission’s presentation, Donald Macarthur, Pharmaceutical Business Analyst and former Secretary General of the European Association of Euro-Pharmaceutical Companies (EAEPC), then set out to explain why parallel trade does not increase the risk of counterfeit medicines in the legal supply chain. He argued that since parallel trade is subject to the same strict safety regulations as those applicable to producers of pharmaceuticals, parallel-traded medicines are equally safe. In fact, parallel trade has helped to detect counterfeit medicines in the distribution chain. Apart from safety, parallel trade promotes price competition, thereby reducing drug prices and accruing savings for those who have to pay for prescription medicines.

During the debate, Erika Mann, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (MEP) and other participants raised the question why the Commission has not acted sooner on such an important issue. Furthermore they found that the internet as the real source of counterfeit medicines has been neglected in the Commission’s proposal.

Although all stakeholders generally welcome any action to combat counterfeit medicines, the initial draft of the proposal sparked a lot of controversy among the Commissioners because it contained a ban on repackaging and re-labelling of medicines, which would have removed the basis of the parallel trade industry model.

Background:

The German Association of Pharmaceutical Parallel Distributors (VAD – Verband der Arzneimittel-Importeure Deutschlands e.V.) is the umbrella organisation of the German leading parallel distributors of pharmaceuticals. VAD members account for about 70 percent of the value of parallel-distributed medicines sold in Germany.

Für ein Gespräch und weitere Informationen steht Ihnen Erika Mann gerne zur Verfügung. Wenden Sie sich bitte an das Büro in Brüssel: Johanna Hasting, Tel.: +32 (0)2 - 284 51 91, Email: erika.mann@europarl.europa.eu , oder an das Büro in Hannover: Henning Hofmann, +49 (0) 511 1674 268, Email europabuero-erika.mann@spd.de