2Thanks to advances in science and technology, theresearch-based pharmaceutical industry is goingthrough an exciting era in medicines development.Research methods are evolving and we have manypromising prospects on the horizon, with ground-breaking cell and gene therapies being increasinglyavailable*. The innovative pharmaceutical industryis driven by, and drives, medical progress. It aimstoturn fundamental research into innovativetreatments that are widely available and accessibleto patients.Already, the industry has contributed to significantimprovementsin patient well-being.Today’sEuropean citizens can expect to live up to 30 yearslonger than they did a century ago. Some majorsteps in biopharmaceutical research, complementedby many smaller steps, have allowed for reductionsinmortality,for instance from HIV/AIDS-relatedcauses and several cancers. High blood pressureandcardiovascular diseases can be controlledwithantihypertensive and cholesterol-loweringmedicines;knee or hip replacements preventpatients from immobility; and some cancers can becontrolled – or even cured – with the help of newtargeted treatments. European citizens can expectnot only to live longer, but to live better quality lives.Yet major hurdles remain, including Alzheimer’s,Multiple Sclerosis, many cancers, and rare diseases.THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY:A KEY ASSET TO SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL PROGRESSSource: HIV/AIDS surveillancein Europe 2024(2023 data), WHOEuropean Region &European Centre forDisease Preventionand Control (ECDC),28 November 2024* https://www.efpia.eu/media/hibdosn5/2024-pipeline-review.pdfTOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS AMONG AIDS CASES IN EUROPE (TOTAL EU/EEA)05001000150020002022202320142015201620172018201920202021179266377087489010261172121915381543 INDUSTRY (EFPIA total)200020102020Production127,504197,359322,554Exports (1) (2)90,935276,357509,828Imports68,841204,824347,124Trade balance22,09471,533162,704R&D expenditure17,84927,92038,736Employment (units)556,506699,059850,928R&D employment (units)88,397116,360121,717Total pharmaceutical marketvalue at ex-factory prices89,449153,685215,902Payment for pharmaceuticalsby statutory health insurancesystems (ambulatory care only)76,909129,706143,762THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY:A KEY ASSET TO THE EUROPEAN ECONOMYAs well as driving medical progress by researching,developing and bringing new medicines that improvehealth and quality of life for patients around theworld, the research-based pharmaceutical industryis a key asset of the European economy. It is one ofEurope’s top performing high-technology sectors.Values in € million unless otherwise stated(1)Data relate to EU-27, Norway, Switzerland and United Kingdom since 2005 (EU-15 before 2005); Croatia and Serbia includedsince 2010; Turkey included since 2011(2) Data relating to total exports and total imports include EU-27 intra-trade (double counting in some cases)Source:EFPIA member associations (official figures) - (e): EFPIA estimate; Eurostat (EU-27 trade data 2000-2024) 320232024405,701440,000 (e)661,559705,000 (e)468,032485,000 (e)193,527220,000 (e)52,37355,000 (e)940,555950,000 (e)123,535130,000 (e)274,545295,000 (e)172,689185,000 (e) 466.9%10.7%Rest ofthe WorldUSAMAIN TRENDSTheresearch-based pharmaceutical industry canplay a critical role in restoring Europe to growth andensuring future competitiveness in an advancingglobal economy. In 2024 it invested an estimated €55,000 million in R&D in Europe. It directly employssome 950,000 people and generates about threetimes more employment indirectly – upstream anddownstream – than it does directly (PwC, Economicandsocietal footprint of the pharmaceuticalindustry in Europe, November 2024). However, thesector faces real challenges. Besides the additionalregulatory hurdles and escalating R&D costs, thesector continues to be hit by the impact of fiscalausteritymeasures introduced by governmentsacross much of Europe since 2010.There is rapid growth in the market and researchenvironment in emerging economies such asBrazil, China and India, leading to a gradualmigration of economic and research activitiesfromEurope to these fast-growing markets.Duringthe period 2019-2024 the Brazilian,GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN (BY MAIN MARKETS) OF SALES OFNEW MEDICINES LAUNCHED DURING THE PERIOD 2019-2023 2.2%15.8 %Europe(Top 5) 4.4%Chinese and Indian markets grew by 14.3%, 2.2%and 9.5% respectively compared to an averagemarket growth of 7.9% for the top 5 EuropeanUnion markets and 9.8% for the US market(source: IQVIA MIDAS, May 2025).In 2024 North America accounted for 54.8% ofestimated world pharmaceutical sales comparedwith 22.7% for Europe. According to IQVIA (MI-DAS May 2025), 66.9% of sales of new medicineslaunched during the period 2019-2023 were onthe US market, compared with 15.8% on the Eu-ropean market (top 5 markets).The fragmentation of the EU pharmaceuticalmarket has resulted in a lucrative parallel trade.This benefits neither social security nor patientsbut deprives the industry of additional