The Maltese and Cypriot governments want the EU to buy new and expensive cancer drugs as a single bloc to bring down prices and make the medicines more available, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela said on Friday.

The two countries will now be jointly lobbying the 25 other EU member states to agree to such a policy. 

Speaking after a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Michael Damianos, Abela said Malta and other small EU states are at a disadvantage when procuring innovative cancer drugs, which are very expensive when first introduced to the market. 

While bigger countries pay less because they can buy larger quantities, small countries pay a premium.

“We are a small country and so is Cyprus, and there are other small countries in the European Union. We are taking the initiative to push forward joint procurement,” Abela told Times of Malta.

“Small countries need to unite behind this initiative so that our patients receive such medicine in an equitable manner that makes sense,” Abela said.

Damianos said the joint EU procurement of drugs would benefit all the 27-member EU.

“We believe that when it comes to medicine availability and the pricing of innovative products the main solution is joint procurement of medicinal products.

“As a matter of solidarity, we should join forces on an EU level at least for innovative products,” he said. 

The Maltese and Cypriot ministers will be pushing the issue with their EU colleagues in the coming weeks, Damianos said.

The EU has purchased drugs as a bloc before – during the COVID pandemic the member states jointly negotiated with pharmaceutical companies to buy vaccines. 

Malta was among the more vociferous supporters of the initiative. 

Back then Prime Minister Robert Abela had hailed the joint procurement process as one reason why Malta was among the first countries to get the vaccines. 

Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela said that the government has also discussed other ways Malta and Cyprus can cooperate on procuring drugs. 

“When it comes to drugs that are difficult to source for us, Cyprus will be able to help us,” Abela said, adding that Cyprus is in a position to do so because the country also manufactures drugs. 

“The next step is for a working group to meet and start the process,” he said. 

The government is taking these steps so that patients always have the medicines they need, Abela added.

Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela and his Cypriot counterpart Michael Damianos. Photo: Ministry for health