Opinions expressed by Digital Journal contributors are their own.
As healthcare systems across Europe face mounting challenges in maintaining reliable access to essential medications, Medochemie has emerged as a key player in securing the continent’s critical medicine supply. The Cyprus-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, recognized as a significant ambassador for Cypriot medicine globally, has reinforced its commitment to European healthcare resilience through its active participation in the Critical Medicines Alliance.
The Belgian Presidency of the EU and the European Commission ceremonially launched the Critical Medicines Alliance on April 24, 2024, in Brussels, marking a pivotal moment in Europe’s strategy to combat medicine shortages. Medochemie, represented by Andreas Loizou, Group Business Development Director, joined this initiative as a member with substantial capabilities in producing essential medications.
Strategic importance of generic medicines in Europe’s healthcare systems
Recent data from IQVIA reveals that generic medicines represent the majority of treatments in Europe, accounting for 70% of treatment volume while consuming only 19% of the market value. This significant disparity highlights the cost-effectiveness and economic importance of generic medicines in maintaining sustainable healthcare systems.
Medochemie has established itself as one of the top 200 generic drug companies globally, enabling over 300 million people worldwide to benefit from its products. With an extensive portfolio that covers 10 therapeutic categories including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, the company contributes significantly to Europe’s pharmaceutical self-sufficiency.
Research indicates that 92% of the European Commission’s list of critical medicines for major events and public health emergencies are generic medicines. This underscores the strategic importance of companies like Medochemie that specialize in producing these essential treatments. The Critical Medicines Alliance recognizes that securing the supply of these medications is fundamental to European healthcare resilience.
The Critical Medicines Alliance: Strengthening European supply chains
The Critical Medicines Alliance, established in January 2024, serves as a consultative mechanism bringing together stakeholders from EU Member States, key industries, civil society, and the scientific community. Its primary objective is to identify priorities for action and propose solutions to strengthen the supply of critical medicines in the EU, enhancing efforts to prevent and address shortages effectively.
Medochemie’s involvement in this alliance is particularly significant given its extensive manufacturing capabilities across Europe. The company operates 15 state-of-the-art production facilities meeting European standards, including nine in Cyprus and one in the Netherlands, all certified according to EU Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.
As part of its commitment to the Critical Medicines Alliance, Medochemie produces numerous medicines on the EU’s critical medicines list. These include essential antibiotics such as amoxicillin, amoxicillin with clavulanic acid, ampicillin, cefixime, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, ciprofloxacin, and clarithromycin. The company also produces other critical medications including carbamazepine, hydrocortisone, metronidazole, paracetamol, and salbutamol. Many of these medications are foundational treatments in healthcare systems and are particularly crucial during public health emergencies.
This manufacturing presence positions Medochemie to address one of the alliance’s core missions: strengthening EU manufacturing capacities for critical medicines and their active pharmaceutical ingredients. The Critical Medicines Alliance has established dedicated working groups to focus on this manufacturing capacity challenge, alongside efforts to diversify international partnerships and cooperation.
Medochemie’s contribution to supply chain resilience
The concept of supply chain resilience has gained prominence since the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in pharmaceutical supply chains. Generic medicines, which often feature multi-source production capabilities, play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of shortages.
Studies reveal that over two-thirds of all reported medicine shortages between January 2023 and 2024 stemmed from medications with low supplier counts (fewer than five suppliers) in Europe. This indicates that sustainable competition levels are essential for ensuring continuity of supply.
Medochemie, with its extensive portfolio of critical medicines produced at European authorized facilities, contributes significantly to this resilience. Many of these medications also serve a dual purpose in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, as they include older molecules that face less resistance from bacteria.
“A lot of these critical medicines produced by Medochemie also play a key role in the fight against microbial resistance as they are old molecules facing less resistance by bacteria,” noted Medochemie in an official statement regarding its participation in the Critical Medicines Alliance.
European manufacturing and strategic autonomy
The generic medicines industry comprises over 400 manufacturing sites in Europe, with more than 20 projects currently underway to strengthen manufacturing capabilities. This industrial presence is crucial as the global production share of active pharmaceutical ingredients in Europe has fallen from 53% to 25% between 2000 and 2022.
As a founding member of the European Generics Association (now part of Medicines for Europe), Medochemie has been at the forefront of efforts to maintain European pharmaceutical manufacturing capability. The company’s commitment to European production aligns with the Critical Medicines Alliance’s objectives of encouraging diversification and boosting manufacturing to address structural risks in supply chains.
In a press release associated with the launch of the Critical Medicines Alliance, Medicines for Europe (of which Medochemie is a member) emphasized that “over 90% of the EU critical medicines list are essential, generic medicines.” The organization highlighted that its members manufacture these medicines “so patients can live better and healthier lives, and health systems can be sustainable and strong to serve them.”
Strategic report and future directions
On February 28, 2025, the Critical Medicines Alliance published its Strategic Report, outlining key findings and recommendations to enhance the security and resilience of the EU’s critical medicines supply chains. The report highlights critical vulnerabilities within Europe’s pharmaceutical supply chains and proposes substantial investment in strategic projects.
The alliance’s recommendations include addressing procurement policies and developing a harmonized framework for stockpiling requirements to ensure security of supply. The report also advocates for strengthening partnerships with third countries to bolster supply resilience, recognizing the interconnected nature of pharmaceutical supply chains.
Medochemie’s participation in this alliance places it at the center of these strategic discussions. With its extensive international presence, exporting medicines to 122 countries and maintaining offices in 19, the company bridges European manufacturing capabilities with global distribution networks.
Global impact with European roots
Founded in 1976 by Dr. Andreas Pittas, Medochemie has grown from its Cypriot origins to become a significant global pharmaceutical manufacturer. Headquartered in Limassol, the company now employs 2,000 people globally, with scientists comprising 45% of the workforce.
Medochemie contributes 28.9% to Cyprus’s industrial exports, demonstrating its economic importance to its home country while simultaneously strengthening Europe’s pharmaceutical manufacturing base. This dual role—supporting local economies while enhancing European strategic autonomy—exemplifies the value that established generic manufacturers bring to the continent’s healthcare resilience.
Concrete actions for medicine security
As a dedicated partner in the Critical Medicines Alliance, Medochemie supports actions such as the below to strengthen medicine security in Europe:
- A comprehensive shortage prevention strategy, including EU procurement guidance alongside national market reforms that reward security of supply. This approach includes greater use of real-time serialization data to monitor imbalances between demand and supply.
- Partnerships between the EU and industry players to restore European manufacturing competitiveness by boosting innovation in production technologies. This collaborative approach recognizes that maintaining pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities requires ongoing investment and technological advancement.
- A shared commitment to ensure access, availability, and supply security based on EU solidarity. This principle aims to achieve equity for critical medicines access between EU countries and replace competitive national stockpiling mandates with a coherent EU reserve policy.
Industry-wide collaboration for European health security
The Critical Medicines Alliance forum has emerged as a pivotal platform for advancing discussions on the resilience of Europe’s critical medicines supply chain. At its second meeting in February 2025, the forum brought together over 300 participants to discuss strategic recommendations for bolstering the production of critical medicines within the European Union.
The Alliance brings together a diverse coalition of stakeholders beyond just Medochemie, including other major pharmaceutical manufacturers such as Sandoz, Teva, Zentiva, Viatris, and many others. This collaborative approach includes EU institutions, Member States, specialized bodies and agencies, local and regional authorities, companies and trade associations, social partner organizations, NGOs, and civil society groups. The Steering Board includes representatives from Member States’ Ministries of Health and Industry, patient and healthcare professionals’ organizations, the Medicine Shortages Steering Group, and the European Medicines Agency.
Medochemie, as one partner among many in this consortium, contributes its manufacturing expertise to this collective effort. The participation of multiple stakeholders ensures a comprehensive approach that addresses the complex challenges of medicine supply chains from various perspectives. The forum has helped shape recommendations for the forthcoming Critical Medicines Act, reinforcing Europe’s commitment to medicine security.
The collaborative nature of the Critical Medicines Alliance highlights the recognition that no single entity can secure Europe’s medicine supply alone. While companies like Medochemie provide essential manufacturing capabilities, the success of the initiative depends on coordinated action across the pharmaceutical ecosystem, with each participant bringing unique strengths to the common goal of healthcare resilience.
Through continued investment in European manufacturing capabilities and active participation in such strategic alliances, Medochemie and its industry partners demonstrate how pharmaceutical companies can meaningfully contribute to securing Europe’s critical medicine supply for current and future generations.
