Political groups in the European Parliament have been urged by 54 European and international organisations working on public health, access to medicines and socially responsible innovation to support amendments aimed at strengthening public interest provisions in the EU’s next research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe 2028–2034. Among the organisations behind the call are Salud por Derecho, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) and Health Action International (HAI).
The request has been set out in a letter addressed to political groups ahead of the upcoming compromise negotiations in the Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). On 24-25 June, MEPs will discuss amendments that are expected to shape Parliament’s position on the future programme.
At the centre of the debate is whether certain publicly funded research projects should be required to include Access Plans designed to identify and address potential barriers related to the availability, accessibility and affordability of resulting health technologies early in the innovation pathway. The signatories argue that the issue has gained increasing relevance in recent years, following debates around COVID-19 vaccine access, medicine shortages, the sustainability of pharmaceutical expenditure and Europe’s dependence on global supply chains.
Public funding plays a significant role in the development of many health technologies, supporting activities ranging from basic research to clinical trials and research infrastructure. Yet public authorities often have limited leverage over the conditions under which resulting technologies ultimately become available once they move into later stages of development and commercialisation.
“In many cases, the public contributes to financing the research that makes new health technologies possible and health systems later pay again to procure them. The current debate is about how to maximise the public return on that investment,” said Vanessa López, Executive Director of Salud por Derecho.
The proposed measures are not without precedent. Public funders, universities and philanthropic organisations in different parts of the world have already adopted similar approaches aimed at strengthening the social impact of publicly funded research. Experience from these initiatives demonstrates that access-oriented provisions can be implemented in ways compatible with successful research collaboration, knowledge transfer and commercial viability. Access planning provides legal and policy certainty for funders and innovators alike and contributes to the impact and efficiency of public R&D investments.
For the organisations behind the letter, the current negotiations represent a unique policy window. Horizon Europe is one of the world’s largest public research funding programmes, and the rules agreed now will shape how tens of billions of euros are invested between 2028 and 2034. While access-related considerations have been incorporated by some public and philanthropic funders, they have never before been considered as part of the general framework governing the EU’s flagship research programme.
Supporters of the amendments argue that embedding upstream access provisions into the innovation process could help maximise the public benefit of publicly funded research while strengthening the resilience and preparedness of health systems in Europe and beyond. They see the upcoming negotiations as a key opportunity to advance this approach. “FP10 is an important opportunity to show that scientific excellence and equitable access can go hand in hand. When public investment helps drive biomedical innovation, access considerations should be built in from the start — so that promising medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and other health technologies can reach the people and health systems that need them. Early access planning is not a barrier to innovation; it is a way to increase its public health impact,” emphasizes Charles Gore, Executive Director of the Medicines Patent Pool.
“Our experience as a product developer shows that it is both possible and necessary to embed access conditions in research and development projects. Doing so at an early stage of the R&D process leads to better outcomes — not only for patients, but can also accelerate development itself. Too often, the conditions needed to ensure public benefit are addressed too late. Integrating Access Plans into FP10 is a practical way to align expectations, improve collaboration, reduce inefficiencies, and leverage the power of public investment to deliver greater returns — supporting EU health sovereignty and enabling the EU to deliver impactful, accessible health technologies for Europe and beyond,” said Michelle Childs, Director of Policy Advocacy at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).
“To address this injustice, an important way is to attach access conditions to public funding from the outset in the legislation governing the EU’s research spending until 2034. Given the scale of the EU’s public investment, policymakers in Europe have a unique opportunity to ensure that the resulting health technologies ultimately remain available, affordable and accessible to the entire society,” argues Dr Marc Biot, Regional Coordinator EU & MENA for MSF Access.
“Discussions around access conditions to publicly funded innovation, and FP10 in general, have deeper implications than EU competitiveness or industrial development. At stake are the founding values of the EU: the Union must work to harness market forces for the public good, not the other way around. It’s high time the European Council heeded the call of the European Parliament and ensured public return on public investment in health technologies,” said Jaume Vidal, Senior Consultant at HAI.
Media contacts
Frédéric Ojardias (DNDi Geneva)
fojardias@dndi.org
Phone: +41 79 431 6216
