Latvian Health Minister Hosam Abu Meri has declared that healthcare and defence are not separate in that it is impossible to make do without hospitals, medicines and physicians during wartime. Mr Meri was speaking at a conference on pharmaceutical innovation in Latvia and Europe on Wednesday.
Asked about a strategy which was developed by the Latvian Association of Pharmaceutical Producers, Abu Meri argued that when the state cannot do enough, businesses come forward with strategies that provide stability over the next decade.
Companies at this time need help from India, China and other countries to product anything, and so Latvia must define more precisely what direction it wants to take, the minister says, adding that there are many producers in Latvia that are already very good at innovation.
Minister Abu Meri went on to argue that at the EU level, it is necessary to understand what each country’s producers can contribute, adding that the EU needs additional financing solutions to support these processes in Europe.
The minister also believes that the resilience of a healthcare system can be assessed both at the national level and the European level.
Co-operation is key, Abu Meri said. “We can argue, of course, about things such as each country defending its own interests, but when we are talking about national security and the EU, we are all on the same page and must work together to ensure that Europe notices us,” he says.
The Latvian Association of Pharmaceutical producers has come up with a new strategy for the industry in Latvia, doing so in partnership with the pharmaceutical companies Olpha, Grindeks and Pharmidea, the University of Latvia, the Riga Technical University, the Riga Stradins University, and the Latvian Institute for Organic Synthesis.
The strategy focuses on Latvia’s ability to become a centre for pharmaceutical innovation in Europe, ensuring around EUR 1.5 billion in revenues and bringing at least 100 new medications to the market.
Source: BNS
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