Building a Sustainable Health Union
Key Insights from Sandra Orta at the Sustainable Livelihoods Summit, Brussels
At the recent Friends of Europe Sustainable Livelihoods Summit, entitled Reimagining European Health Systems, Sandra Orta, General Manager of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) for Spain and Portugal, joined leading experts to discuss Europe's potential to leverage its health systems for sustainable economic growth and improved patient care.
In her keynote, Sandra emphasized Europe's foundational strengths, notably the pharmaceutical sector's significant contribution of over €300 billion to the EU economy and its support of 2.3 million jobs. She underlined how investment in innovative medicines yields profound economic benefits, citing studies demonstrating that every euro invested in innovative treatments saves €5 in hospital costs, with additional gains in productivity five times the initial investment.
"Europe is uniquely positioned to lead in life sciences, delivering rapid patient access to innovative treatments and fostering significant economic benefits," Sandra stated. Highlighting successful efforts in Spain, she noted the impressive 75% increase in clinical trial investment into the country over the past decade. However, she expressed concern about Europe's declining competitive edge, particularly regarding the decreasing global share of new medicines developed within the region.
Sandra stressed the critical nature of current discussions on the General Pharmaceutical Legislation (GPL), urging careful consideration to prevent further erosion of Europe's innovation capabilities. She pointed specifically to potential risks in reducing regulatory and market protection periods and weakening intellectual property rights, areas essential for maintaining investor confidence and sustaining Europe's competitive advantage.
Moreover, Sandra advocated for a comprehensive, system-wide approach to health policy. She called for establishing a Life Science Office within the European Commission to facilitate strategic dialogue and policy coherence, ensuring Europe remains attractive for life sciences innovation.
Addressing the transformation from disease management to disease prevention, Sandra shared successful Spanish initiatives like expanded vaccination programs and legislative efforts to curb alcohol and tobacco use. She highlighted collaborative models involving government, healthcare providers, industry, and patient associations, emphasizing the critical role pharmaceutical companies play through innovative public-private partnerships and prevention campaigns.
Concluding her remarks, Sandra called for reimagining healthcare spending as a strategic investment rather than merely a cost. "By prioritizing innovation, prevention, and collaboration, we can deliver not just improved healthcare outcomes but also robust economic growth and societal resilience," she affirmed. “Investing in innovation brings better health, better health brings higher productivity, and higher productivity will help us to go back and continue investing in innovation. The only way to do that is through private-public partnership”.
Sandra is General Manager of Bristol Myers Squibb for Spain and Portugal. With over two decades of global leadership experience in pharma, biotech, and diagnostics, Sandra is known for her strategic vision and innovative approaches to healthcare. Prior to joining BMS, Sandra served as Chief Marketing Officer at Almirall and General Manager at Roche Diagnostics South Africa. Passionate about patient-centricity and digital transformation, she actively serves on several advisory boards, including Farmaindustria and the American Chamber of Commerce in Spain.