11 March 2025
The Critical Medicines Act, published today by the European Commission, marks a major step forward towards more systematic collaborative procurement of cancer treatments. Cancer leagues across Europe applaud the legislative initiative for its potential to prevent and mitigate shortages, reduce costs, and ensure fair access to life-saving cancer drugs through collaborative procurement facilitated by the Commission.
Medicine shortages are a growing problem in the EU, with shortages of oncology drugs posing a particularly serious challenge. Cancer affects a large portion of the population, and many oncology medicines have a narrow therapeutic window, making them difficult to substitute.
Cancer medicines are one of the classes of drugs most affected by shortages. A list of critical medicines published by the European Commission and European Medicines Agency in 2024 includes 49 antineoplastic drugs, medications used to treat cancer.
Moreover, patient access to oncology medicines varies considerably across the EU. The high cost of novel medicines often puts them out of reach for countries with limited healthcare budgets. For instance, between 2019 and 2022, patients in Germany had access to 46 out of 48 cancer medicines authorised at the EU level, whereas patients in Lithuania could access only 3.
By further institutionalising joint procurement at the EU level, the Critical Medicines Act can help prevent shortages and lower prices for all member states, making smaller markets more appealing for pharmaceutical companies and ensuring fairer access for all patients. Today’s proposal allows three or more member states to initiate cross-border procurement, with the Commission acting as a facilitator and setting a deadline for other EU countries to join. In addition, the Commission itself may procure certain medicines on behalf of member states if at least nine request it. Finally, the Commission and EU countries can voluntarily engage in joint procurement procedures.
European cancer leagues welcome the Commission’s push for a common EU approach to joint procurement to ensure all EU member states have access to critical medicines, especially in times of crises:
“Availability of affordable and effective cancer medicines should not depend on where you live. The Critical Medicines Act has the potential to empower European countries to join forces through collaborative procurement, ensuring that every cancer patient has timely access to the life-saving treatments they urgently need. We now call on the EU Parliament and Council to move forward with the next steps of the legislative process without delay”, says Toma Mikalauskaitė, Policy Lead at the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL).
Next, the European Parliament and Council of the EU will scrutinise the Commission’s proposal and adopt their own positions on the Critical Medicines Act, before entering negotiations with the EU Commission to finalise the legislative text.
Background:
The Critical Medicines Act aims to tackle severe shortages of essential medicines across Europe and reduce the EU’s reliance on external suppliers, strengthening the supply of critical drugs, including cancer treatments. These efforts complement ongoing discussions around new EU measures to prevent and mitigate shortages of all medicines within the EU Pharma Package.
The proposal for a Critical Medicines Act has been informed by the final recommendations of the Critical Medicines Alliance, which were published on 28 February 2025. The Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) is a member of this alliance, alongside over 270 representatives from patient and scientific communities, healthcare providers, industry and public authorities.
For further information, please contact Ivonne Leenen, Communications Officer at the European Cancer Leagues (ECL): ivonne@cancer.eu
