“Priorities in Healthcare 2022” – with Adamed Pharma

Representatives of the patient community, industry organisations, manufacturers, and public administration discussed the current challenges, needs and necessary measures in the wake of two years of living in the pandemic during the session “Securing drug access for Polish citizens” held during the conference “Priorities in Healthcare 2022”.

2022 is already the third year when fighting the pandemic and averting its impact are key aspects in healthcare systems. During the discussion, it was stressed that uninterrupted access to drugs was a priority for patients with chronic and acute diseases, and newly diagnosed conditions. As shown in the survey findings presented at the debate, patients believe that the health safety of Polish citizens is greater when the domestic pharmaceutical industry is growing – particularly in view of the continuing crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Industry representatives underlined the fact that Polish pharmaceutical companies – despite having to face extremely unfavourable conditions during the pandemic – had successfully maintained continuous production. As the panellists agreed, there had been no shortage of drugs: either medicines supporting COVID-19 treatment or agents used in other areas of therapy. It is a plain fact that securing drug access for Polish citizens depends on the manufacturers rather than specific products.

Katarzyna Dubno, Public Affairs & Market Access Director at Adamed Pharma, highlighted the important role of the pharmaceutical industry and its investments and innovations in securing drug access to patients in Poland, but also its contribution to the development of a highly specialised area of industry which can scale up innovation capacity also in other fields such as chemical or agricultural and food processing industries.

“Securing drug access to patients and production continuity have always been among our priorities. Our strategy is based on development and investments. This is why Adamed Pharma is planning to earmark approximately PLN 1 billion for investments by 2025, and allocate PLN 120–130 million a year for R&D projects. Investing in R&D is built into our DNA. Despite the pandemic, in 2021 we continued research into innovative drugs across our three research platforms: oncology, neuropsychiatry, and diabetology. We are committed to ensuring that intellectual property is created in Poland and stays here. On that basis, we will be able to provide Polish patients with advanced drugs.Last year, we worked on a total of 52 R&D projects at various stages of evolution. Constructive dialog between the industry and government together with a clearly defined shared goal are essential to keep patients safe” – said Katarzyna Dubno.

The discussion was moderated by Anna Śliwińska, President of the Polish Diabetes Association. The panellists included: Artur Bartoszewicz – SGH Warsaw School of Economics; Katarzyna Dubno – Polish Union of Employers in Pharmaceutical Industry, Adamed Pharma; Krzysztof Kopeć – Polish Union of Employers in Pharmaceutical Industry; Krzysztof Łanda – MedInvest Scanner; Barbara Misiewicz-Jagielak – Polish Union of Employers in Pharmaceutical Industry, Polpharma Group; Łukasz Szmulski – Ministry of Health.

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The 11th edition of the conference “Priorities in Healthcare 2022” took place on 26–27 January 2022. The debates involved eminent scientists, specialists in various areas of medicine, world-class experts, decision-makers within the Polish healthcare system as well as representatives of the largest global pharmaceutical companies, patient organisations, and major stakeholders in the healthcare sector.

During the inaugural session, the participants underscored the issue of health debt, which is increasing and leading to dramatic losses, and in many situations can no longer be recovered. During the second day of the conference, at the virtual session “Post Scriptum – Priorities in Healthcare 2022”, the attending experts shared their experiences by presenting ideas on how to improve the operation of the healthcare system in Poland, and highlighting issues including prevention as a conscious approach to health management, human resources in healthcare, crisis situations, and problems faced by research and teaching hospitals.