The SANT Committee, the new target of lobbying by the giants of the pharmaceutical industry?

The establishment by the European Parliament, last week, of the new standing committee on public health (SANT) - which in the previous European Parliament was only a subcommittee - could become a platform for lobbyists from the pharmaceutical sector and the tobacco industry, thus diverting from its main mission - protecting public health -, say several European deputies, according to a material published on the Euractiv.com website.

Immediately after the new committee was established, Tiemo Wolken, a member of the Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) political group in the European Parliament, told the cited source: "It remains to be seen whether the EPP group will use this committee only to promote the agenda or projects of lobbyists from the pharmaceutical or tobacco industry, or whether they will collaborate with the democratic center to promote the well-being of patients." Wolken, who was previously rapporteur for the European pharmaceutical reform, thus highlighted the tensions between the committee's stated priorities and external influences.

The cited source shows that the German MEP's concern was expressed by several of his colleagues from the S&D political group, but also from the Greens and The Left groups, who warned of the risk of economic interests prevailing over public health interests.

• Impressive amounts spent by the pharmaceutical industry on lobbying the European institutions

Data from the European Union Transparency Register, presented by the cited source, shows that the pharmaceutical sector spends impressive amounts on lobbying activities with the European institutions in Brussels. Among the companies with the largest budgets spent in 2023 on lobbying in Brussels are Novartis (2.5 million euros allocated for buying influence), Sanofi and Roche (2 million euros each), Pfizer (1.5 million euros), Novo Nordisk (1.4 million euros), Abbvie (1.4 million euros), Bristol Myers Squibb (1.4 million euros), Johnson&Johnson (1.1 million euros) and Astra Zeneca (900,000 euros).

MEPs who fear for the future of the SANT committee claim that these funds are used to influence EU public health policies, by organizing events, meetings with other MEPs and financing campaigns to promote the interests of the sector. Despite transparency requirements, registration in the EU register is voluntary, which raises questions about the accuracy of the amounts reported.

A large part of the amounts allocated by pharmaceutical companies for influence activities are directed to specialized lobbying firms in Brussels. The cited source states that they play a key role in advising and supporting companies in navigating the complex EU legislative process and provides several examples.

Thus, the pharmaceutical company Abbvie spent between 100,000 and 200,000 euros on support provided by the lobbying firm RPP Group in the implementation of the European pharmaceutical strategy, the clinical trials directive and the EU4Health program. Pharmaceutical giant Novartis has, according to Euractiv, directed similar amounts towards supporting the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS), while the American company Pfizer has collaborated with the firms Fleishman-Hillard and FTI Consulting to influence changes in the new pharmaceutical package, the wastewater treatment directive and other initiatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Meanwhile, the cited source states that the employers' association MedTech Europe has reported lobbying expenses of up to 1.75 million euros, while the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has declared an impressive lobbying budget, ranging between 5.5 and 6 million euros in 2023, to which are added the amounts allocated additionally for the lobbying companies Acumen Public Affairs and FTI Consulting.

• 319 meetings of SANT Commission members with pharmaceutical industry representatives

The Euractiv article mentions that in the second semester of 2024, practically from the establishment of the current European Parliament until last week, 319 meetings were recorded by Transparency International between members of the current SANT Commission and representatives of the interests of pharmaceutical companies. During these meetings, key topics were debated that are on the committee's agenda, including legislation on critical medicines, the future European Biotechnology Act, medicine shortages, the pharmaceutical package, sector regulations, mental health and rare diseases.

The cited source states that pharmaceutical industry representatives met with MEPs who have significant influence on future regulatory acts, including Laurent Castillo (EPP, France), Stine Bosse (Renew Europe, Denmark), Tomislav Sokol (EPP, Croatia), Andras Kulja (EPP, Hungary), Nicolas Gonzalez Casares (S&D, Spain), each of whom participated in at least 20 such meetings.

In these circumstances, a significant part of MEPs are wondering, according to the cited source, whether the members of the SANT Committee will manage to ensure the balance between the needs of patients and the pressures exerted by the pharmaceutical industry, or whether it will become an instrument for advancing the economic interests of the giants in the pharma industry. The answers to these questions will depend on the transparency and responsibility with which the committee will carry out its work in the future.