Dear Members of the European Parliament,

As negotiations on Framework Programme 10 (FP10) advance, we are writing to urge all political groups of the European Parliament to support the amendments tabled in the ITRE Committee to the draft report that promote access planning and socially responsible innovation provisions for biomedical products and health technologies developed with public funding.

The European Union is one of the world’s leading public funders of research and innovation. FP10 presents an important opportunity to ensure that public investment in biomedical research delivers maximum public value — not only by stimulating scientific excellence and innovation, but also by supporting timely, affordable, and equitable access to resulting medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and other health technologies.

Public funding frequently plays a critical role in biomedical discovery and health technology development. In some cases, however, barriers relating to affordability, availability, supply, regulatory pathways, manufacturing capacity, or deployment can limit access and the public health impact of publicly supported innovations, including in resource-limited settings, as well as further development when different developers are involved in different stages. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of considering access goals from the outset. Where products developed with public funding reach the market at prices that health systems cannot sustain, or are not made available in certain markets, both the public investment and the commercial investment fail to deliver their intended return — generating inefficiencies in the use of scarce public resources.

Planning for access during R&D has emerged as one useful and flexible mechanism through which funders, universities, public research institutions, and other innovation actors can align innovation goals and activities with broader societal objectives while preserving commercial incentives and partnership opportunities. Empirical evidence shows that access planning in R&D is used not only to promote access but also innovation. Access planning provides legal and policy certainty for funders and innovators alike and contributes to the impact and efficiency in public R&D investments. Access-planning approaches are already being implemented by public and philanthropic funders, universities, not-for-profit institutions and research institutions internationally. Experience from these initiatives demonstrates that access-oriented provisions can be implemented in ways compatible with successful research collaboration, technology transfer, startup creation, commercial viability and research on global public health priorities.

Strengthening access planning within FP10 would also align the programme with existing EU and international policy commitments, including the EU Global Health Strategy, the Sustainable Development Goals, the WHO Pandemic Agreement, and broader commitments to health equity, pandemic preparedness, and societal impact from publicly funded research and innovation.

Appropriate access-planning measures can also improve accountability and public trust in publicly funded research and innovation by ensuring early consideration and discussion of how publicly supported technologies can ultimately reach the populations who need them. Such approaches can help reinforce an appropriate public return on public investment while supporting resilient and sustainable innovation ecosystems.

The European Union has a unique opportunity to reinforce global leadership in responsible and socially impactful biomedical innovation. We respectfully urge all political groups to support access-planning and socially responsible innovation provisions within FP10 and its implementing instruments that promote both scientific excellence and societal benefit.

Signed by:

1. Salud por Derecho
2. Medicines Patent Pool (MPP)
3. Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)
4. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
5. Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW)
6. Health Action International (HAI)
7. Institute for Global Health, University College London
8. Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
9. Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
10. Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development
11. Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
12. Universities Allies for Essential Medicines Europe
13. IAVI
14. European Vaccine Initiative (EVI)
15. TBVI (TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative)
16. Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV)
17. FIND
18. TB Alliance
19. The Population Council’s Center for Biomedical Research
20. European Fair Pricing Network
21. Global Health Advocates
22. Mutualités Chrétiennes – Christelijke Mutualiteiten - Christian Mutual Health Fund
23. International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (AIM)
24. Médecins du Monde International Network
25. International Treatment Preparedness Coalition in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
26. Save the Children
27. Treatment Action Group
28. Danish Alliance for Global Health
29. TB Europe Coalition
30. ReAct - Action on Antibiotic Resistance Europe
31. NLR (until No Leprosy Remains)
32. Fundación Científica de la Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer
33. Aidsfonds - Soa Aids Nederland
34. ARAS - Romanian Association against AIDS
35. Cesida (Coordinadora Estatal de VIH y sida de España)
36. AIDS-Fondet
37. BUKO Pharma-Kampagne
38. Wemos
39. Alliance for Reducing Microbial Resistance (ARMoR)
40. Foundation of Tuberculosis Research Unit of Barcelona
41. Consumer Association the Quality of Life (EKPIZO)
42. Consilium Scientific
43. KNCV TB Plus
44. Medicines Law & Policy
45. KEI Europe
46. Public Eye
47. Médecins Sans Vacances
48. Humanity & Inclusion
49. Eurasian Community for Access to Treatment (ECAT)
50. Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation
51. CEESE (Cuba Europa medical Education and Science Exchange network)
52. Damien Foundation
53. Viva Salud
54. Asociación Madrileña de Salud Pública

Individual Signatories

Jolene Skordis — EGHRIN Network Coordinator; Professor of Economics — University College London

Susi Geiger — Full Professor — Access to Medicines Ireland

Claudia Wild — Priv. Doz. Dr. — Transparency International Austria, Lead of Working Group on Health Care

Marco Albonico — Md, President Festmih — Federation Of European Societies For Tropical Medicine And Global Health (Festmih)

Nicoletta Dentico — Head of the Health Justice Programme — Society for International Development (SID)

Guenter Froeschl — Medical Doctor, Head of Teaching & Training Unit — Institute of Infectious Diseases and

Tropical Medicine, University Hospital LMU Munich

María Belén Tarrafeta Sayas — Pharmaceutical Policies Advisor and Researcher — Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp

Joost Smiers — Professor — Utrecht University of the Arts

Valérie Van Belle — President — Be-cause Health

Els Torreele — Founding Executive Director — æqua

Magalie Schotte — Be-cause Health Coordinator — Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp