A high-level event on the Critical Medicines Act (CMA) was held in the European Parliament in Brussels, hosted by Tomislav Sokol, Member of the European Parliament and EP Rapporteur for the CMA. The meeting opened with speeches by Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Health, and Emer Cooke, Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency.
The CMA is an initiative from aims to strengthen the EU’s resilience against medicine shortages by enhancing supply chain security, encouraging diversified manufacturing within Europe, and improving access to essential medicines. Discussions brought together policymakers, industry representatives, patient organisations, and supply-chain stakeholders, highlighting that robust and coordinated action is needed to address vulnerabilities in medicine supply beyond regulatory solutions alone.
The event included a panel discussion on “The role of the Critical Medicines Act in enhancing Europe’s strategic autonomy, addressing medicine shortages, and boosting the competitiveness of the pharmaceutical industry.” The panel brought together representatives from EU institutions, national politics, and the pharmaceutical sector. Panelists were Lorena Boix Alonso, Deputy Director-General for Health at the DG SANTE; Adam Jarubas, Chair of the European Parliament’s SANT Committee; Nathalie Moll, Director General of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations; and Elisabeth Stampa, Vice President of Medicines for Europe.
The discussion focused on the objectives of the Critical Medicines Act, including improving the security of supply of critical medicines, strengthening European manufacturing capacity, and addressing persistent medicine shortages across Member States. Alzheimer Europe was represented at the meeting by our Director for Research, Angela Bradshaw.
