Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The EU Commission and eight EU Member States signed a joint procurement agreement with Scandinavian Biopharma for 1,600 vials of diphtheria antitoxin to enhance health security.
What Does the EU’s New Diphtheria Antitoxin Agreement Involve?
The European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) has signed a collaborative procurement framework agreement alongside EU Member States for the supply of a medication used to treat diphtheria with the pharmaceutical firm Scandinavian Biopharma Distribution AB. Eight Member States are partaking in the agreement, under which they can jointly buy 1,600 vials of Diphtheria Antitoxin.
How Will Joint Procurement Enhance Diphtheria Health Security?
On the occasion, Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, stated: “Ensuring access to medicines is key for our European Health Union. Through this joint procurement, we are taking further action, together with our Member States, to protect the health of European citizens against a clear cross-border health threat. Diphtheria is a rare yet serious infection that can prove deadly, especially for children. We must ensure that those who need treatment can access it promptly.”
Why Is the EU Increasing Access to Diphtheria Antitoxin?
While diphtheria is an infrequent disease in the EU and the spread has been under supervision and largely controlled through vaccination, occasional cases persist. With a reduction in cases worldwide, including in the EU/EEA, there are very few factories of diphtheria antitoxin, making it more challenging for Member States to access the product.
How Does HERA’s Procurement Support EU Health Preparedness?
HERA has undertaken joint procurement to enable access to the Member States to the medicine. This voluntary mechanism delivers participating countries the opportunity to jointly procure medical countermeasures as an option or complement to procurement at a national level. The common procurement mechanism seeks to secure equitable access to specific medical countermeasures and to enhance the security of supply, thereby assisting in the precluding of and preparedness for potential future health crises.
HERA was launched as a direct consequence of the lessons understood from the initial management of the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure a substantial Union response to serious cross-border health hazards and secure ready availability and accessibility of medical countermeasures. HERA’s international cooperation schedule strives to build strong relations with bilateral and multilateral members to ensure the availability and accessibility of medical countermeasures globally, strengthening preparedness and resilience against potential health problems in the future.
