An international expert conference on 'Pharmaceutical Innovation: Possibilities and Limits of Personalised Drug Therapy' starts today within the framework of Germany's EU Presidency. Jointly held by the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices and the European Commission, the two-day conference will be opened by Dr. Klaus Theo Schröder, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health.
Dr. Klaus Theo Schröder: "Personalised pharmacotherapy aims to develop medicinal products that are tailored to individual patients and groups of patients, thereby creating new, improved therapeutic options and optimising existing ones. In addition to enhancing tolerability, this therapeutic approach is meant to increase the effectiveness and safety of drug therapy and, at the same time, contribute towards the more effective use of resources in the health care system.“
Dr. Klaus Theo Schröder emphasised the importance of pharmaceutical innovation from the political perspective. The objective is to achieve advances which put patients' benefit first. Many diseases, such as senile dementias or HIV/AIDS, still eluded treatment or, at least, causal treatment. "But it is not enough to merely develop new, innovative drugs. They must also be available and accessible to patients on the ground. In this respect, Germany is doing well by international comparison. Relevant studies show that, in Germany, new and innovative drugs are made available to the insured at a rate hardly equalled by any other country in the world", the State Secretary emphasised.
Turning to another aspect, Dr. Klaus Theo Schröder stressed the economic importance of pharmaceutical innovation: "The improvement of locational conditions and the creation of jobs are not only high-priority general policy aims in Germany and Europe; they are, at the same time, the prerequisite for safeguarding the provision of health care.“ In this context, he pointed to other political initiatives and projects, among them the European Innovative Medicines Initiative. The Pharmaceutical Innovation Conference will be attended, today and tomorrow, by 200 experts from the fields of pharmaceutical research, production, licensing and control, among them representatives of the EU Member States, the EU candidate countries and the USA:
The diverse problems and challenges with which the fast-paced biotechnological developments in the field of pharmaceutical and health care supply confront science, business and policy-makers alike will be discussed and will take concrete form in joint introductory and closing events, and in various workshops. In the process, issues relating to pharmacogenomics will be discussed, focusing specifically on cardiovascular diseases, psychiatry/neurology, hematology/oncology, metabolic and viral diseases as well as regulatory issues and the problematic area of adverse effects/toxicology. A closing plenary event will look at the role and function of licensing authorities.
Additional information can be obtained at:
http://www.bmg.bund.de/cln_041/nn_1030704/DE/Themenschwerpunkte/Internationales/EU-Ratspraesidentschaft/Konferenzen/bonn-11-7.html
