EU Plans Easier Access to Generics in Potential Blow to Big Drugmakers

European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Jan. 18, 2018. Francois Lenoir/Reuters

The European Commission wants to make it easier for patients to access cheaper, generic medicines, a draft EU document seen by Reuters shows, in a move that could cut the revenues of big pharmaceutical firms.

The EU executive outlines its strategy for the sector in a document due to be published on Wednesday, with the goal of making drugs more affordable and preventing the dramatic shortages seen in the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring.