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Health will be one of the main topics at this year’s World Economic Forum. It is encouraging to see that the world leaders are recognising that health is a prerequisite for well-being and economic growth. And as a large contributor to health, our industry can play an important role in ensuring that people live longer active lives and contribute to this economic growth.
One look at the rough outline of the different sessions and there are at least seven sessions that are of particular interest.

The year is nearing its end and as I look at the christmas tree being put up, the smell of pinewood slowly filling our office’s reception area, I cannot help but think that 2013 was a crucial year for patients, healthcare systems and Europe as a whole. This past year was dominated by one topic of mastodont proportions, but other actions, activities and achievements have been just as important to us.

The revision of the IVD and MDD Directives has ensured that the last quarter has been a really colourful, hectic and interesting one. The revision process has now entered a new phase where Council will need to agree on a position, after which it will have to negotiate this position with Parliament. That negotiation should then lead to the final texts for IVDs and devices. In terms of timelines, the Parliament is set on finalising both processes before the European elections of May 2014. Until then, I’m sure the evolutions will provide me with plenty to blog about.

Does Europe have a proper start-up culture? Are we doing enough for young professionals? According to Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, in her article for the World Economic Forum, we could do more to make Europe fertile ground for start-ups, and engage the youngest generation entering the workforce. As a young professional in Brussels well-acquainted with millennial woes, I was eminently interested in the views of an established and influential official at the European Union.

According to EDMA’s 2012 European In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) Market Statistics Report, the in vitro diagnostics market in Europe has decreased 2.2% in 2012. These results had been predicted in the previous EDMA report released for 2011, given austerity measures to cut costs in health expenditure. However, a decline in revenue for IVDs might have bad effects in the health of Europeans: there is good reason to believe that governments should invest in IVDs when trying to save money in healthcare.

Getting the timing right for the implementation of changes is essential to ensuring that the new regulations result in a better system for IVDs rather than a bureaucratic quagmire.  The sweeping changes being made to risk classification will be complex and time-consuming.  The lessons learned from similar overhauls in other markets show us that a period of transition is essential to optimise the implementation of changes for the new European IVD legal framework.

In the past, percussion of the abdomen, taking temperature, or tasting sugar in urine were considered diagnostic standard of care methodologies. Today, invitro diagnostics (IVD) provide additional objective biomarkers that diagnose cancer, infections, heart attacks and many other health conditions.

While enjoying my holidays I was reminiscing a bit about my time in Brussels and thought I‘d share my reflections with you. A little over a year ago, on 16 July 2012 to be precise, I joined EDMA and Eucomed. As such, this “fait divers” is not that important, but since then a lot has changed that will impact our industries and associations.

A surprising few things have happened lately. Firstly, the weather in Belgium CAN be nice and pleasing to a Franco-Italian such as myself. Secondly, the ENVI Committee vote that was scheduled to take place on 10 July was postponed to 18 September for both the Medical Devices and In Vitro Diagnostics Directives. If I did not know better, one could think this date was chosen to coincide with our housewarming reception. All joking aside, my third surprise was the realisation that we’re already in mid-July, and it’s been a year since I’ve joined MedTech Europe, EDMA and Eucomed. Going into everything that has happened would take me too far this time, but I will reflect on the past year in my next blog, so look out for that to come out mid-August.