Forever chemicals

ECHA announces support for qualified restrictions on PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

ECHA’s scientific committees back an EU-wide restriction on PFAS, warning of serious health and environmental risks while allowing limited, controlled exemptions

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: Preparedness; avian flu; child cancer medicines; doctors call for AI safeguards; Covid vaccine and sudden death

MEPs warn of growing crises in talks on preparedness; first human case of Avian Influenza reported in EU; EMA seeks feedback on paediatric cancer drug development; European doctors reject ‘move fast and break things’ approach; major study finds no link between COVID-19 vaccines and sudden death

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: AI; MDR simplification; European patents; Ireland supports ‘right to be forgotten’ law

AI law changes risk weakening patient safety in healthcare; EU extends ‘well-established technologies’ list under MDR; medical technology and pharmaceuticals are among top ten European patent fields; Ireland to make ‘right to be forgotten’ law for cancer survivors

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: World Tuberculosis Day; Lyme disease; Roche's major investment

EU/EEA falls short on TB detection as one in five cases go unnoticed; Lyme disease vaccine shows promising results in late-stage trial; Roche announces €1.5 billion investment in its Swiss base

World Tuberculosis Day

EU/EEA falls short on TB detection as one in five cases go unnoticed

Ahead of World Tuberculosis Day a new report shows that Europe needs to do more to reach 2030 targets

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: Rare diseases; UK COVID inquiry; PRIME improves; UK meningitis outbreak

Casares says people suffering from rare diseases ‘deserve hope’; UK COVID-19 Inquiry says healthcare system was close to collapse; EMA upgrades PRIME with three tools to support developers; ECDC says MenB outbreak in UK poses low risk to EU/EEA

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: Pharma Package; male contraception; medical devices; women’s cancer index

Pharma Package agreed in December sails through committee; giant condom highlights call for more male contraceptive options; Medical Device Regulations: ‘We Heard Your Calls’; Index exposes gap in women’s cancer care across Europe

Male contraception

Giant condom erected in front of Parlaiment highlights lack of male contraceptive options

A giant condom outside the European Parliament highlights calls for EU investment in new male contraceptive options to promote shared reproductive responsibility

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: CMA update; cardio diseases responsible for one-third of EU deaths; ECDC to develop RSV guidance

Critical Medicines Act slowly edging forward; Circulatory diseases are responsible for one-third of deaths in the EU in 2023; ECDC to present guidance on RSV vaccines for adults by 2027; Roche scales AI; AstraZeneca gastric cancer drug approved; Servier single-pill formulation to improve adherence

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: Critical medicines trilogue; Pharma Package implementation and ePI; Ixchiq

Entrenched positions likely to mark second critical medicines trilogue; long and winding road to Pharma Package implementation - electronic product information implementation roadmap; EMA updates safety information on chikungunya vaccine

Critical Medicines Act

Entrenched positions likely to mark second critical medicines trilogue

While shortages have been reduced, supply-chain risks from global conflict may reinforce those calling for greater EU autonomy when it comes to medicine supply

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: Fair pricing; promoting EU health tech; WHO profiles for urgently needed microbials

Lower-income EU countries are paying more for cancer medicines; Digital health laboratory makes recommendations on how to bolster EU-vendors; WHO releases new target product profiles for urgently needed antimicrobials

Critical Medicines Act

Lower-income EU countries are paying more for cancer medicines

A European Fair Pricing Network study reveals that lower-income countries are paying more for their medicines

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: AMR pipeline; EU AI food safety tool; mRNA duo to found new company

Report warns of 'worryingly thin' antimicrobial treatments pipeline; New EU AI tool aims to transform food crisis response; BioNTech co-founders will leave to focus on next-generation mRNA innovations

Food safety

New EU AI tool aims to transform food safety

Várhelyi hails a new AI-driven system to detect food fraud and safety risks as a ‘breakthrough’

mRNA

BioNTech co-founders leave to focus on next-generation mRNA innovation

Husband-and-wife team who transformed BioNTech into a global vaccine leader are leaving to pioneer the next wave of mRNA disruptors

Antimicrobial Resistance

Report warns of 'worryingly thin' antimicrobial treatments pipeline

While progress on finding innovative new antibiotics has been made, there are few new contenders on the horizon and momentum has slowed

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: EMA’s ambitions for women; Pharma Package; EU fertility falls to record low; Novo

EMA chief lays out her ambitions for women’s health; Council publishes Pharma Package agreed text; EU fertility falls to record low; Novo Nordisk reaches an agreement with Hims &Hers

Fertility

EU fertility falls to record low as population continues to age

New data released by Eurostat show that fertility across the European Union fell to its lowest level on record in 2024, while the population continued to grow older

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: Gender health inequality; rare diseases; clinical trials in emergencies

Commission gender equality strategy targets women’s health inequalities; rare disease alliance welcomes Parliament proposal for a European Rare Disease Action Framework updated guidance on the conduct of clinical trials during public health emergencies opens for consultation

Women's health

Commission gender equality strategy targets women’s health inequalities

Five-year plan on gender equality places strong emphasis on health inequalities

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: Growing obesity strains healthcare systems; DARWIN EU; HPV awareness

Growing obesity strains healthcare systems; DARWIN EU ready to move to next stage; HPV awareness day

Obesity

EU health chief warns obesity is a growing threat to Europe’s healthcare systems

Rising obesity rates pose growing challenge to sustainability of Europe's healthcare system

Inside EU Health

Inside EU Health: Pharmacists ‘on the front lines’ of Europe’s medicine shortages; untreated menopause's cost on productivity; long term impact of Long COVID

Pharmacists ‘on the front lines’ of Europe’s medicine shortages; untreated menopause has a €17 billion cost on productivity; Study highlights reduced ability to work among people with Long COVID

Medicine shortages

Pharmacists ‘on the front lines’ of Europe’s medicine shortages

Stakeholders agree that tackling medicine shortages requires long-term reforms to procurement and EU co-ordination, not just a crisis response