Critics attack transfer of responsibility for drugs in Europe

The decision by the incoming European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, to transfer responsibility for health technology, pharmaceuticals, and the European Medicines Agency over the next five years away from the commission’s health directorate to its industry counterpart has provoked an outcry from public health professionals.

The transfer reverses the decision by Juncker’s predecessor, Jose Manuel Barroso, five years ago to move the drugs and medical devices brief and the medicines agency away from the industry directorate to health. The U turn has prompted fears that business considerations will weigh more heavily than medical ones when future legislation or drug authorisation is being considered.

The …