This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Meetings with the pharmaceutical industry since March 1st 2020'.




Ref. Ares(2021)1400307 - 22/02/2021
Meeting wit EFPIA 
Meeting date and place 
Meeting held on 06/05/2020 14:00 in Videoconference 
Participating organisation(s) & representative(s) 
- ASOCIACIÓN NACIONAL EMPRESARIAL
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Participant
DE LA INDUSTRIA FARMACÉUTICA (TRN: 025250318220-32) 
- - European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (TRN: 38526121292-88) 
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Requester
- - European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (TRN: 38526121292-88) 
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Participant
 - European Federation of Pharmaceutical
Participant
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Industries and Associations (TRN: 38526121292-88) 
 - European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries
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Participant
and Associations (TRN: 38526121292-88) 
 - European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations
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Participant
(TRN: 38526121292-88) 
Main issues discussed 
The Commission gave a general presentation of the state of play of the negotiation. 
EFPIA presented their position, emphasising the need for an MRA on GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) in medicinal products, which in
their view is in line with an FTA approach. According to EFPIA, such an agreement would bring not only cost-cutting but also reduced time
to access medicines for patients.  It also emphasised that GMP being a global standard, future divergence by the UK is very unlikely. On
the other hand, UK inputs are critical to preserving the competitiveness of the European industry vis-à-vis other global players. 
EFPIA also noted that “best-template” FTA would be desirable on intellectual property aspects of medicinal products, such as regulatory
data protection. 
The Commission took note of the industry position and reminded EFPIA that the EU interest must be assessed in the overall context of the
EU-UK negotiation as well as the UK declared intention to depart from EU rules. EPFIA offered to provide economic data on the issues
covered by its position paper and the Commission expressed its openness to look with interest at any analysis or position papers tabled by
EPFIA. The Commission also recalled the importance that stakeholders get prepared for the end of the transition period and drew EFPIA’s
attention to the relevant guidance notices available on its Brexit webpages.
Directorate or unit 
TRADE F/3 
Internal participants 
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TRADE  F/3 
@ec.europa.eu) 
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Participant
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TRADE  F/3 
@ec.europa.eu)  Participant
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TRADE  F/3 
@ec.europa.eu) 
Notetaker
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UKTF 
A/4 
@ec.europa.eu) 
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ParticipantFor information
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UKTF 
A/4 
@ec.europa.eu) 
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Participant
Author(s) of minutes 
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Validator and validation date 
 validated the minutes on 08/05/2020 19:50 
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Minutes generated by EMT (Id:TRADE/1586)
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