Inside EU Health: WAITing; Ebola; tobacco consultation; UK/US pharma deal
WAITing for medicines; WHO releases further $3.4 million for Ebola outbreak; Commission launches consultation on tobacco regulation; NGOs challenge UK-US medicines pricing deal
WAITing for medicines
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) WAIT Indicator tracks the access and availability of 168 new medicines across 36 countries. The report acknowledges the “unprecedented speed” of innovation over the last five years, which has left states - and treasuries - struggling to keep up.
The median time to availability is 532 days, ranging from 56 days in Germany to 1.201 days in Romania. EFPIA attributes delays to multiple causes including slow regulatory processes, reimbursement delays and insufficient budgets.
The leading reason why companies had not filed in a country for pricing and reimbursement was a lack of economic viability. This category included the size of the treatable population, the lack of company presence, and the cost of launching that was not recoverable.
EFPIA hopes that some of the barriers and delays can be addressed through the Pharma Package and the Biotech Act, but fears that the situation is likely to be compounded by the US ‘Most Favoured Nation’ policy.
WHO releases further $3.4 million for Ebola outbreak
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced a further $3.4 million from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support national authorities in their response to the Ebola outbreak, bringing the total amount to $3.9 million.
The announcement came after the first meeting of the Emergency Committee. Unusually, the PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern) cameahead of this meeting, given what the Director General described as the “scale and speed” of the epidemic.
WHO confirmed that an American national had tested positive and had been transferred to Germany.
Commission launches consultation on tobacco regulation
The Commission has launched its consultation on the revision of the Tobacco Products Directive and Tobacco Advertising Directive, which govern the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products, as well as their advertising and sponsorship.
The revision aims to support the achievement of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan objective of a tobacco-free generation by 2040 and meet obligations under the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control. The prevalence of smoking in the EU remains high, particularly among young people.
The revision aims to bring the legislation up to date with recent market developments, consumption trends and digital marketing practices.
Catherine Feore
NGOs challenge UK-US medicines pricing deal
NGOs accuse the government of trading National Health Service pricing safeguards for export protection, as Washington intensifies efforts to push higher medicine costs across Europe.
The UK government is facing the threat of a judicial review over a medicines pricing agreement struck with the United States to avoid punitive tariffs on British pharmaceutical exports. Campaign groups Just Treatment and Global Justice Now argue the deal unlawfully weakens NHS drug pricing protections and undermines the independence of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Under the December 2025 agreement, the UK committed to raising the threshold for assessing whether medicines are cost-effective for NHS use and increasing spending on drugs over the next decade. In exchange, Washington agreed to maintain zero tariffs on UK pharmaceutical exports for at least three years. Critics warn the changes could cost the NHS billions.
The dispute also reflects growing pressure from the Trump administration on European governments to pay more for medicines. Politicians and insurers across Europe have warned that US demands risk undermining national healthcare systems and increasing costs for patients and public health services.
Catherine Feore