Christopher A Viehbacher, chief executive officer of Sanofi, was elected as a president of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), for a two-year term.

Stepping into his role as the new president of EFPIA, Viehbacher called on the European Union, member states and industry to work together in facing Europe’s economic and social challenges. He emphasised the pharmaceutical industry’s potential to help revive Europe’s economy while improving the quality of life for its people, and outlined EFPIA’s priorities for the industry.

“I am extremely honoured by this election that comes at a time when Europe needs a different approach to healthcare,” declared Christopher A Viehbacher, president of EFPIA. “As an industry, we will continue to put patients first by delivering innovative, life-changing medicines that address unmet medical needs. But given the chronic deficits of healthcare systems, we must work differently, build collaborative policies and combine our strengths at both national and European levels. As we want Healthcare to be a growth engine for Europe, our industry must focus on three priorities: patient access, science & innovation and competitiveness.”

As inequalities in access to healthcare and innovative treatments are growing between European countries, structural issues of health system efficiencies must be addressed. Member states are implementing different policy approaches, many of which are aimed at reducing public financing in the short term. Yet, there remains an insufficient evaluation of their impact on access and ultimately on the health status of European citizens. We need to ensure that medical innovation makes its way to the patient.

Currently, pharmaceutical R&D productivity is far from optimal, at a time when the need for innovation in health has never been greater. Science is evolving very quickly, bringing with it the promise of personalised medicine as well as a range of new technologies for improved delivery in healthcare systems. We need to support collaborative research and rethink the regulatory and policy framework to help translate scientific innovation into therapeutic progress to bring to patients.

As European growth is stagnant and global competition for investment is intense, we must focus on sectors that can drive growth, such as the healthcare sector. However, in order to contribute to a healthy workforce and economy, a comprehensive industrial policy for life sciences is needed to foster a real culture of innovation and collaboration among public and private actors. The European Commission, member states and industry need to work together, if we are to realise the potential promised by innovation-led growth.

In 2012 alone, the R&D-based pharmaceutical industry in Europe generated 700,000 jobs, and created a positive trade balance of an estimated € 80 billion. This industry is driven by innovation, by science, and, most importantly, by the health needs of people.

“I look forward to working with my EPFIA colleagues and with others across the health system to advance policies that recognize the strategic importance of our industry in terms of better health for patients and economic growth,” Viehbacher concluded.

Joining Viehbacher at the head of the EFPIA board will be two newly elected Vice Presidents, Dr Roch Doliveux, chief executive officer of UCB, and Joseph Jimenez, chief executive officer of Novartis.

EFPIA represents the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Through its direct membership of 34 national associations and 40 leading pharmaceutical companies, EFPIA provides the voice of 1,900 companies committed to researching, developing and bringing new medicines to improve health and quality of life around the world.