2011 Anniversary Yearbook - EUFEPS today and history

EUFEPS Newsletter, 2004, vol. 13, issue 3
Pharmaceutical Research
Community Contributions
and Expectations in New
European Union Countries
Aleš Mrhar
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
The 10 new European Union countries,
i.e. Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia,
have to solve the problem of the lag
in technological development of their
industries, when compared to the
15 countries of the former EU. The
promotion of new technologies in
production processes is a necessary
condition for restructuring of their
economies. This promotion, to be
successful, must be accompanied by
a modern educational and training
system providing professionals for
running research and development in
academia on one side and, on the other,
by the capability of industry to include
educated and trained people into their
environment.
EUFEPS has been recognized as
a powerful platform to promote
pharmaceutical sciences across united
Europe by integrating academic, industrial
and regulatory institutions to reach safe
and effective medicines faster. However,
the majority of these mechanisms have
been successfully established within 15
countries of the former EU but not between
them and new EU countries. For this
reason, EUFEPS must develop activities
to bridge this gap as soon as possible.
Although Slovenia may not be a
typical case when looking at the stage
of development of pharmaceutical
profession and sciences, because these
are rapidly growing fields in this country,
a survey of its institutions can illustrate
successfully the state of affairs in the new
EU countries:
- Slovenian pharmacies have developed
to a high level of professional work
in terms of dispensing and distributing the
drugs and providing the information on
proper use of drugs. The network is partly
privatized, partly state owned, with the
staff having mainly academic education
and trained continuously on national and
international courses. Modern concepts
such as pharmaceutical care, patient
counselling for prescriptions and OTC
drugs are in place. A high standard of
review has developed in this area with the
Slovenian Chamber of Pharmacy as a nongovernmental
institution, authorized with
the regulation of the quality of professional
service.
• Slovenian pharmaceutical companies
(Lek, Krka) grow progressively and
are able to compete with the
international companies (Lek recently
became a new member of Sandoz
group), predominantly in the value-
added generic segment. The two
companies are similar according to a
number of parameters:
employees, approximately 2500
each, one third with academic
education including a substantial
number of Masters and Doctoral
Degrees
turnover per year, approximately
500 million euros each, more than
two thirds exported, in considerable
part to EU, USA and Japanese
markets
allotment of more than 10% of total
earnings for research and
development activities.
• Slovenian academic educational
and research institutions (one faculty
of pharmacy, two medical faculties,
two faculties of chemistry, two
main research institutes with divisions
involved with pharmaceutical sciences)
are internationally recognized as part
of an advanced system, able to develop
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Aleš Mrhar
and transfer up-to-date knowledge
and advanced technologies in many
directions, both as generator and user,
• Slovenian Agency for Medicinal
Products serves as the licensing
authority for drugs and medical
devices, playing its part in the
international harmonization process.
In its structures, a large number of the
experts from national pharmaceutical
and medical academic circles are
included.
The high level of pharmaceutical
profession and science in Slovenia
represents the basis for strong integration
of all institutions in international arenas,
in terms of organizing international
symposia, summer schools and workshops,
exchanging professors and scientists,
exchanging Ph.D. students, collaborating
with Slovene scientists who are affiliated
to foreign universities and companies, etc.
Without doubt, this statement holds good
for any of the 10 countries that joined EU
on 1st May 2004.
The main problem the pharmaceutical
professionals and scientists are facing
is that a majority of the 10 countries are
small and for this reason, viewed from
a global perspective, they are not freely
appreciated as places with considerable
potential in the fields of pharmaceutical
sciences and technologies. Consequently,
the results of their work, that are significant
in many fields, are not met with a wide
response, and the transfer of know-how is
still difficult.
What these countries need at the
moment is a settled access to institutions
(faculties, institutes, companies) where
first class educational and scientific
programmes are available to bring well
trained scientists and well educated