Stefan Oelrich, President of Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division has been elected as the new President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) with Teresa Graham, CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals and Carlos Gallardo, Chairman and CEO of Almirall as first and second Vice Presidents.  

At a press conference held in Brussels today [26 June] the new Presidency team convened to address how the rapidly changing geopolitical environment is reshaping the life sciences playing field – and how Europe can respond. 

Europe’s historic strategic position in the life sciences industry is under enormous pressure as geopolitical shifts and intense competition from the US and China reshape the sector. Policymakers in Brussels and across Member States face a stark choice: allow Europe’s competitiveness crisis to deepen or seize this inflection point to reset, and to lead in life sciences.  

EFPIA believes that by choosing to lead, Europe can translate the region’s scientific excellence into cutting edge therapies, those therapeutic advances into better health for citizens and economic growth, which in turn, can generate jobs, investment and revenue to finance public health services and be reinvested into the science.  

With the right actions taken now, we can: 

• Put Europeans back at the cutting-edge of innovation and patient care. 

• Deliver faster, more equitable access to medicines for all Europeans. 

• Reverse the loss of cutting-edge research to other regions and bring clinical trials back to Europe – 60,000 places have been lost in the past decade.  

• Make healthcare systems more sustainable, reducing the burden of hospitalisations and chronic disease. 

• Reduce the investment gap with the US and attract the lost €billions in research, development and manufacturing and the high value jobs that go alongside. 

• Rebuild the dynamic, connected ecosystem of small bio-techs, university hospitals, and academics, attract and retaining the best talent. 
• Ensure the tools to fight the next global health threat and our existing health challenges can be discovered, developed and manufactured here in Europe. 

Without urgent and decisive action, Europe risks a continued exodus of jobs and investment and continued reliance on regions like the US and China for future medical innovation and supply. 

Europe requires radical policy change now: 

• Significantly increasing spending on innovative medicines, as an investment in Europe’s future health and economic security. 

• Developing a world leading regulatory framework conducive to innovation. 

• Elevating IP protection to levels seen in other pro-innovation regions, including the USA  

• Re-igniting Europe’s life sciences ecosystem - harmonising clinical trial approvals across Europe, supporting bold public-private partnerships and creating a dynamic funding ecosystems for European biotech’s and life science SMEs. 

Stefan Oelrich, EFPIA President said, “The time has come to reinstate Europe as a global epicenter of biopharmaceutical innovation. By pressing the reset button on efforts to attract investment; to accelerate the pace of scientific translation into medicines; and to speed up patient-access to treatments, we can and will build a biopharmaceutical ecosystem that sustainably thrives for the health and economic security of Europeans today and tomorrow.” 

Teresa Graham, EFPIA 1st vice President said, “Europe’s future prosperity depends on how we invest in health today. Supporting healthcare innovation isn’t just about staying globally competitive — it’s a strategic driver of stronger economies, and a more resilient, future-ready society.” 

Carlos Gallardo, EFPIA 2nd vice President said “Advancing life sciences is key to finding new solutions for health challenges, and the pharmaceutical industry translates these innovations into impactful products delivering better health outcomes. This sector is a key contributor to Europe’s future - delivering health for our citizens by accelerating access to novel medicines, and contributing to economic prosperity, stability, and educational leadership. It’s critical that politicians and legislators in Europe and its member states act fast and decisively now to ensure the health and prosperity of our citizens for generations to come."

Other regions of the world are moving rapidly, Europe needs to act decisively and quickly to attract investment, accelerate turning that investment into new treatments and ensure that patients across the EU get access to them.