“Investor protection” in favor of the pharmaceutical industry is important for the EU, but the physicians’ freedom of treatment that is required for the benefit of their patients is not.
Do you remember my blog How the Imhotep “Mummy” became the God of Medicine…? The brilliant doctor and vizier Imhotep not only built the first step pyramid for his Pharaoh Djoser 2600 BC, he reformed the entire known medicine. His impact on medicine was so strong that he influenced the writings of Galen in ancient times and the writings of Avicenna in the Middle Ages. What would have happened then in Egypt in the 3rd Dynasty if administrative officers of Pharaoh Djoser would have prescribed for him how he would have got to perform medicine? What mischief would they probably have requested from him?
We are right now faced with such a situation: The EU administration officials dictate physicians on behalf of the European Commission (a structure that is democratically not legitimized) which therapies they may no longer perform; specifically therapies with human cells, which shall be reserved for pharmaceutical companies. The trick is making human cells into “drugs liable to approval” and thereby withdrawing them from both doctors and patients, because of course, such an approval process is difficult, time consuming, and extremely expensive. What a surprise that to the chagrin of the European Medical Agency (EMA) hardly any drug approvals have been requested, even though the whole drug approval process was of course made to “protect patient safety only” ;-).
This chagrin has prompted the European Commission to exert even more pressure and restriction. You will surely not believe its latest coup: As a patient you have to apply for “drug approval” at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) before using your own cells (!) in your own body (!). Thus, the healing potential of human cells is held back from both physicians and patients! What do countless chronically ill patients think about this scandal, patients who suffer from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), osteoarthritis, blood circulation disorders, scleroderma? One can only hope they will complain at Brussels!
Behaving like an elephant controlled by industry lobbies in the “china shop” of democracy will make this EU including its commission and the EMA increasingly unpopular! Cheers campaigns in the media paid by the taxpayers will not change this!
DDr. Heinrich, MD