Pharmaceutical industry - Lauterbach wants to bring pharmaceutical production to Germany
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to bring significantly more research to Germany to intensify the fight against cancer, infections and other serious diseases. A new medical research law should be introduced before Christmas, Lauterbach said in Berlin.
Germany had fallen far behind in pharmaceutical innovations in recent years. In the UK, for example, there are ten times as many patents as in Germany and 20 times as many actual production sites. The aim is now to "reindustrialize Germany" in this area. "We have fallen behind here." Increased research should also bring more subsequent production of new medicines to Germany. "Where there is research, there is also production," said Lauterbach.
Fast approvals
The legislative plans now provide for a whole series of innovations. Lauterbach said: "We will be playing catch-up with clinical trials." Specifically, a reduction in bureaucracy is planned: Among other things, certain clinical trials will in future only have to be applied for at one office at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM). The approval process is to be completed within 25 days. In particular, prescribed tests on questions of ethics, radiation and data protection should be simplified.
The aim is also to give researchers more access to health data. According to Lauterbach, three laws that are currently being drafted should work together to achieve this - in addition to the medical research law that has now been announced, a law on the broader use of health data and the planned digital law for the introduction of an electronic patient file for all insured persons. These laws would "significantly strengthen" Germany as a pharmaceutical research location, said the Minister.
More data and more funding
Lauterbach said that data generated during the billing of treatments would be pooled nationwide in future. In this way, research should be able to make better use of it. To this end, there are collaborations with the USA and Great Britain, for example.
"Targeted funding instruments" should also be used to establish new production facilities in Germany, the Ministry of Health writes in a strategy paper. These would be examined together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs. For example, start-up companies should be attracted to set up in Germany with tax incentives. Lauterbach was optimistic about this despite the current budget crisis. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has "clever ideas here".
The plans for strengthening the pharmaceutical industry are in line with the results of a top-level meeting with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) the previous day. The so-called pharmaceutical summit was attended by top representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), among others. No results were communicated.
Lesen Sie auch:
- The SPD's Karl Lauterbach, the Federal Health Minister, aims to boost pharmaceutical production in Germany, particularly in the field of cancer and infection research.
- In contrast to Germany, Great Britain has ten times more pharmaceutical patents and twenty times more production sites.
- Lauterbach believes that increasing research in Germany will lead to more domestic production of new medicines, as "where there is research, there is also production."
- To facilitate clinical trials, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) will have a single application point, and the approval process will be expedited to 25 days.
- To strengthen Germany as a pharmaceutical research location, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are considering using targeted funding instruments to establish new production facilities in Germany.
- In addition, the government is collaborating with the USA and Great Britain to gain access to health data for research purposes.
- The plans to strengthen the pharmaceutical industry align with the discussions held at a recent summit attended by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other high-ranking officials.
Source: www.stern.de
