European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations

Just one-third (32 per cent) of the innovative medicines authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are available in Bulgaria, according to a report of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). It was presented to the media at Monday's workshop on "How can we close the East-West healthcare investment gap in Europe?".

The United Kingdom is asking logistics providers to bid for an express freight contract worth 25 million pounds a day to supply drugs to the country after it will leave the European Union on October 31, BNR reported.

Drug makers said on Monday they would continue to ship medicines to Greece in coming weeks, despite mounting unpaid bills, but warned supplies could be in jeopardy if Europe did not take emergency action.

Reuters reports that Greece owes 1.1 bln euros to international drug-makers and is in danger of having life-saving medicines cut. Richard Bergstrom, the director general of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, told Reuters that his members had not been paid since December 2014 with money owed by both hospitals and health run insurer EOPPY.