Helen Collis

London

Health Care Reporter at POLITICO Europe

Health editor @POLITICOEurope | retweets ≠ endorsements

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Articles

Belgium wanted a drug shortages bill. It’s not happy with the EU’s plan.

2 months ago | politico.eu | Rory O’Neill |Helen Collis |Claudia Chiappa |Mari Eccles

Belgium was the architect of a European plan to tackle chronic drug shortages. But it views the EU's long-awaited fix announced Tuesday as a letdown. Even before the European Commission presented its Critical Medicines Act — which focuses on an overhaul of procurement rules and subsidies to boost domestic drugs production — the country's health minister lamented that the proposal “does not meet the gravity” of Europe’s supply crisis.
France leads fight against EU plans to merge health crisis and civil protection units

Jan 31, 2025 | politico.eu | Helen Collis

France is leading a charge against an EU proposal to merge Europe’s health crisis authority with its civil protection unit over fears it will downgrade the bloc’s ability to respond in a health emergency. Europe’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) was set up in 2021 to better anticipate health threats and respond effectively to them.
Bird flu poses growing pandemic threat as virus evolves

Jan 29, 2025 | politico.eu | Helen Collis |Giedre Peseckyte

Bird flu poses an increasing pandemic threat as it becomes more adaptive, jumping to humans, pets and zoo animals, Europe’s disease and food agencies warned on Wednesday. They are urging countries to step up their surveillance and containment measures to prevent the virus from continuing to evolve and become more dangerous to people. “In 2024, avian influenza viruses expanded their reach, infecting previously unaﬀected species.
Fears over health NGOs’ future as massive EU funding cut looms

Oct 24, 2024 | politico.eu | Mari Eccles |Helen Collis |Rory O’Neill |Giedre Peseckyte

European health groups could be facing an existential threat as the European Commission plans to cut grants by 50 percent next year, people familiar with the plan are warning. The EU executive is expected to halve the amount it will provide health non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for running costs such as staff salaries, rent, conferences and travel, according to two people briefed on the plan and a memo circulated among civil society groups and seen by POLITICO.
Várhelyi ducks commitment to food, booze health labels

Oct 23, 2024 | politico.eu | Helen Collis

Health advocates hoping for tough European measures to curb rates of obesity and other chronic diseases may wish to direct their lobbying efforts nationally, after the designated EU health commissioner downplayed food and booze label plans.
WHO approves Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine

Sep 13, 2024 | politico.eu | Rory O’Neill |Helen Collis

The World Health Organization has approved Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine, the first jab it has greenlit to combat the outbreak that has killed at least 643 people in Africa so far this year. The vaccine is approved for people over the age of 18 as a two-dose jab — but the WHO has also said it "may be used 'off-label'" for infants and children, and in pregnant and immunocompromized people, where the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
Can global leaders agree on a tough AMR plan?

Sep 12, 2024 | politico.eu | Claudia Chiappa |Helen Collis |Rory O’Neill

Global leaders are attempting to deliver a heavy-hitting deal later this month to drive down growing rates of superbugs — but several iterations of the text highlight just how challenging that will be, with discussions becoming "heated." It's the second time leaders have agreed to hammer out a political declaration to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at the United Nations General Assembly, but this latest text is expected to be a significant improvement and far more ambitious than the...
Bavarian Nordic asks EU to extend mpox shot license to adolescents

Aug 15, 2024 | politico.eu | Helen Collis

Bavarian Nordic, the manufacturer of the only mpox vaccine, is seeking to extend the shot’s license in Europe to include adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, as a more deadly version of the virus — formerly known as monkeypox — spreads largely through young children in Africa. The Danish drugmaker has submitted further data to support its shot, Imvanex, to the European Medicines Agency, it said in a statement Friday.
EU drugs regulator revises rules after court links experts to industry

Jul 23, 2024 | politico.eu | Helen Collis

Europe’s medicines watchdog says it has “taken immediate steps” in response to a court ruling that its conflict-of-interest rules may not prevent bias among its experts. The judgment identified flaws in the regulator’s policy for handling competing interests, specifically for experts who have links to products that rival the one they are assessing.
Malta’s Fearne could still be EU commissioner nominee if court clears him, says PM Abela

Jul 10, 2024 | politico.eu | Helen Collis

Down but not out (possibly). Malta's Chris Fearne could still be in the running to be the country's European commissioner. Prime Minister Robert Abela announced today that he still hopes to nominate Fearne if he can clear his name in court within two weeks. Fearne was Malta's pick for the next Commission but handed back his nomination and resigned as deputy prime minister last month after he was charged with fraud in connection with a hospital contract scandal.