EAPM Bulletin: Issue 54, September 2019 www.euapm.eu Von der Leyen moves to build new Commission Greetings, and welcome to the September newsletter from EAPM. Back to work we all go, and hopefully you’ve all had a In the EAPM pipeline: good break. Busy times lie ahead… • 27 September: EAPM roundtable at ESMO Certainly very busy at the moment is incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is assembling Congress, Barcelona the College that will form her top team for the next fve years • 28 September: Pioneer roundtable (as above) And, of course, Brexit took yet another turn this week with the decision by UK premier Boris Johnson to prorogue Parliament • 16 October: MEP Roundtable, Brussels during a signifcant chunk of the run-up to Britain's departure from the EU on 31 October. • 4-5 December: EAPM 3rd annual But more of all that later as we’d frst like to draw your Congress, Brussels attention to an important document that the Alliance has put together recently. We already know that the drivers of personalised medicine are It takes the form of an MEPs briefng and aims to inform clear for each stakeholder group: patients; the pharmaceutical both new and returning Members of the European Parliament industry; and for healthcare systems and payers. But many ask about the background to personalised medicine, where things whether innovation is really giving us value for money. currently stand in the sector, and what’s expected and/or required as we go forward. The debate has focussed to a large extent on the cost of “doing something” – the spiralling cost of developing drugs, the extra At 50+ pages it’s pretty comprehensive while still being written cost of providing innovative diagnostics, the hidden costs of as much as possible in layman’s terms. The briefng is available supportive care. for all to download HERE. But among other things the EAPM meeting will ask is “what The document will be distributed around Brussels, in particular about the cost of not doing something?” the European Parliament, and made available to our colleagues and experts attending the ESMO Congress (see below). If we ration healthcare we must do so in a logical way. This will mean making tough decisions but these decisions must be Barcelona, such a beautiful horizon... made on rational evaluation of an evidence base that evaluates both cost and value. We need to prioritise approaches that will Coming up pretty quickly, on 27 September in fact, is the deliver cost-efective quality care that will improve the lives of prestigious ESMO Congress in Barcelona at which, for the fourth European citizens and societies. time, the Alliance be hosting a satellite roundtable meeting as part of the events. While we need to reward innovation in this context, it must be innovation that gives value to patients. In the same way as our own many conferences and congresses, the focus will be on bringing innovation into healthcare systems, One basis for this roundtable is that it is necessary to but with very specifc items on the Alliance agenda. formulate a personalised healthcare strategy involving medical specialists, decision makers and regulators in the arena of EAPM's event at ESMO will, for obvious reasons, have a oncology public health, to enable EU and Member States to cancer focus, with one aim being to see how we can facilitate contribute to integrating personalised healthcare into clinical bringing personalised healthcare into the EU's healthcare practice while enabling much-greater access for patients. systems. The Alliance believes that a feld as large as oncology can illustrate best practices for use in other disease areas. Attendees will be drawn from key stakeholders from the oncology community whose interaction will create a A further key focus of the event will be to align and explain the cross-sectoral, highly relevant and dynamic discussion forum. broader personalised healthcare story to the wider community. Joining them will be decision makers, representatives from the Commission, Members of the European Parliament, patient portfolios were handed to fve vice-presidents who were groups, and European umbrella organisations representing supposed to oversee several commissioners each. But they did interest groups and associations actively engaged in the feld of this without direct access to relevant Commission staf, so it was personalised medicine. largely inefective. The sessions will cover: Up for vice-president posts, as we already know, are Dutch Socialist Frans Timmermans and Danish Liberal Margrethe • Oncology and real-world evidence Vestager, and they can both expect more infuence under the new plans. • Stakeholder perspectives Timmermans may well lead eforts to come up with a Green • Putting personalised medicine into practice New Deal, which will cover relevant policy areas set to include transport, energy and research and development. • Molecular diagnostics According to Politico, the reform ideas are part of an attempt • Biomarkers to refect geographical and political diversity in the executive’s leadership, alongside bringing about much-needed better • Patient empowerment coordination. • Future-proofng healthcare Most of you will remember that von der Leyen came from virtually nowhere in the race to beat Timmermans and Vestager For those of you who will be there, we look forward to seeing to the top job, but there needs to be a demonstrable balance of you in Barcelona. power between the EPP, the socialists and the liberals. This may not be particularly easy and, as one senior Commission coming together Commission ofcial reportedly said: “You cannot have three presidents, but you need a bizarre love triangle.” As mentioned up top, European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen began ofcial interviews with candidates As far as the composition of the rest of the next Commission for her upcoming College this week. goes, von der Leyen will have a complete list of her Chosen Few in the coming weeks, after ongoing sessions with candidates. The new Commission chief is reportedly thinking about revamping the structure of the EU’s Executive to give more She’s already met Margaritis Schinas, the Greek candidate ‘oomph!’ to the posts of vice-presidents. who is currently the chief spokesperson for the Commission, and has also interviewed Helena Dalli, Malta’s candidate. Currently they have the title, but not much extra infuence or real power, but Ushi vdL may change all that by giving Others scheduled for meetings this week include the Czech vice-presidents direct access to Commission staf. That doesn’t Republic’s Věra Jourová, Estonia’s Kadri Simson, and Stella sound like much, but it would efectively give them more power Kyriakides from Cyprus. to inform and set legislation. Visitors to vdL's ofce won’t have included the original Polish In the previous administration, a system existed in which Page 2 Old and new faces for von der Leyen Commission. Current list of nominees - Page 7 Left, Denmark's Margarethe Vestager (currently serving); Frans Timmermans of The Netherlands, centre left (also currently serving); Belgium's nominee, Didier Reynders, centre right; and; bottom, Dubravka Šuica of Croatia Page 3 candidate who withdrew himself from consideration, because Rumour has it that Croatia is keen on the regional policy Warsaw was ofered the agriculture portfolio and he was less portfolio, so there may well be opportunities for our SMART than keen, although not because the brief isn’t a tasty one. Outlook programme. Either way, we congratulate Dubravka and look forward to meeting her at some point in her new role. Krzysztof Szczerski said: “I think this portfolio is so important for Poland that it should go to someone who has been dealing As for the remaining Members of the European Parliament, with agriculture their whole life.” EAPM is already gearing up for efective action alongside the new intake and many faithful friends who are back in the Poland’s replacement nominee is Janusz Wojciechowski, hemicycle. who is currently an auditor in the European Court of Auditors. An auditor? Given the portfolio, hopefully he’s more than just a Brexit latest bean counter, then. Sometime between 9-12 September, until 14 October, the The trouble is, Bulgaria has said it wants current Digital UK’s House of Commons will be prorogued (in other words, Commissioner Mariya Gabriel (above) for the powerful suspended) after Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent envoys up agriculture dossier, so there may be some gripes in Sofa. to Balmoral in Scotland - The Queen’s holiday estate - to advise Her Majesty to do so. Protocol dictates that the monarch has to Meantime, as Italy’s governmental crisis rumbles on, Rome had acquiesce, as she duly did. yet to nominate its European commissioner as we fnalised this newsletter. But Belgium has not been tardy, with the formerly Very few saw the move coming, but more predictable was the monikered ‘Mr Euro’ himself, current Foreign Minister Didier reaction from mostly pro-remain MPs (alongside quick-reacting Reynders, being named as the country’s candidate. public demonstrators), who accused the premier of moving to stop any attempt by Parliament to avert a no-deal Brexit. He’s There will certainly be no Briton undergoing an interview with certainly carved up the time available. von der Leyen, it seems, with the UK confrming that it would not be nominating anyone to succeed Julian King. To nobody's surprise, Mr Johnson denied it, of course. (As Mandy Rice-Davies once said of another high-profle political “The government has been clear that we are leaving the EU denial: “He would, wouldn’t he?”) on 31 October whatever the circumstances. Given that the new Commission will not be taking up ofce until after we have left For his part, the Speaker of the House of Commons we will not need a new commissioner,” a statement read.