Europe’s competitiveness: learnings from the healthcare sector

Prior to his current position as Policy Coordinator in DG GROW’s Health Ecosystem Unit, Thomas Heynisch held various roles within the European Commission services. He has worked at DG GROW and its predecessors for over 20 years, primarily dealing with EU policies related to food, healthcare industries and biotechnology.

A member of the European Parliament for Luxembourg since 2018, Tilly Metz  Luxembourg the first Vice-Chair of the subcommittee on Public Health, and is also a member of the ENVI, TRAN and AGRI Committees. In the previous mandate of the European Parliament, she represented Greens/EFA in the Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic. Her focus in EU health policy is on One Health, the healthcare workforce, women’s health, access to medicines and rare diseases.

Tamsin Rose is a facilitator who was until recently a senior fellow for health at Friends of Europe. Having studied international relations, she has 25 years of experience working across the European continent from Ireland to Mongolia. A natural communicator, Tamsin has been a radio reporter, worked on press for the EU Delegation in Moscow and is currently a member of the external speaker team for the European Commission Directorate-General for Communication, describing how the EU works and key policies to visitor groups from around the world. Since 2002, she has specialised in public health and public participation issues, serving as the Secretary General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), and providing strategic advice for health groups on how to engage successfully with the EU.

In her role of Senior Vice-President, Head of European Markets, Monica Shaw leads BMS’s business across Europe, with a portfolio of innovative medicines spanning oncology, hematology, cardiovascular, immunology, cell therapy and neurology. Shaw joined BMS from Oncopeptides, a global biotechnology company, where she served as Chief Executive Officer. She has held several international leadership positions at Leo Pharma, GSK/ViiV Healthcare, Merck Serono and Novartis, with experience across immunology, dermatology, oncology, virology, neurology and rare diseases. Previously, Shaw also worked as a doctor at the UK’s National Health Service.

András Tivadar Kulja is a Hungarian surgeon, accomplished digital health expert and politician of the Respect and Freedom Party (Tisza), who currently serves as Vice-Chair in the Committee of Environment, Health and Food Safety (ENVI) of the European Parliament and Vice-Coordinator for the European People’s Party (EPP), in the Public Health Committee (SANT). Previously, he was a professor of Health and Science Communication at Semmelweis University. Kulja’s social media posts and videos on health education, aimed to fight disinformation, notably prevailed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Els Torreele is a global health equity and medical innovation expert, working to re-think the global pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing ecosystem to prioritise people’s health needs and ensure equitable access to knowledge and technologies where and when needed. Recently, she has been working as an independent researcher and advisor with global health and justice advocates such as members of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and as a Visiting Policy Fellow at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London. For over 20 years Torreele combined scientific research, pharmaceutical R&D, policy analysis and research, and advocacy at Brussels University, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), among others. She has (co-)authored over 50 international journal publications including in The Lancet, BMJ, Nature, and Vaccines, and is a regular contributor to the scientific and societal debate around medical innovation and equitable access through international conferences, media and social media.