Despite major European reforms to strengthen preparedness and resilience and despite European efforts to mitigate supply chain
vulnerabilities, medicine and medical device shortages continue to affect Member States. As the implementation of the Critical Medicines
framework and of broader EU resilience initiatives advance, a central question emerges:
How can Europe strengthen healthcare resilience through better coordination across the entire value chain — and address
fragmentation, distortion and unsustainable cost?
From Medicines Shortages to Medicines Security — Building Bridges for a More Resilient European Healthcare System
European Parliament, Brussels · 14 October 2026 · 16:30–20:30
Short bios drawn from official agency, association and institutional sources; verified July 2026. Each photo link points to the official page hosting that speaker’s headshot.
MEPS
Tomislav Sokol | MEP | Hosting Member of the European Parliament
co-host
Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis | MEP
EU INSTITUTIONS
Agnès Mathieu-Mendes | EC, Head of Unit Medical Products, Quality, Safety, Innovation, DG SANTE
Emer Cooke | Executive Director | EMA
Laurent Muschel | EC, Deputy Director General, DG HERA
Monica Dias | Head of Supply and Availability of Medicines and Medical Devices | EMA
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS & REGULATORY AUTHORITIES
Gloria Ghéquière | Adviser, Cabinet of Deputy PM and Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Frank Vandenbroucke
María Jesús Lamas Díaz | Director, AEMPS | Chair, HMA Management Group | Member, EMA Management Board
Rui Santos Ivo | Chair, Management Board, European Medicines Agency (EMA) | President of the Executive Board, Infarmed.
INDUSTRY
Adrian van den Hoven | Director General | Medicines for Europe
Nathalie Moll | Director General | EFPIA
Oliver Bisazza | Director General | MedTech Europe
Marco Farinelli | AstraZeneca | Chair, EFPIA Supply Chain WG
Maurice Dantès | Pharma Logistic Austria
Matthias Heck | Senior Advisor Strategic Alliance Development | EUCOPE
HEALTHCARE & PATIENTS
Ilaria Passarani | Secretary General | PGEU
Yannis Natsis | Director | ESIP
Sarada Das | Secretary General | CPME
Johan Van Eldere | Secretary-General, European University Hospital Alliance (EUHA)
Rosa Castro, Public Affairs Director at EURORDIS – Rare Diseases Europe
| 17:00 | Arrival & Welcome Reception |
| 17:15 | Formal Opening -Welcome HCI + MEP Tomislav Sokol |
| 18:00 | Panel 1: "Where does resilience break today?" |
| 18:30 | Panel 2: "Are stockpiling and procurement strengthening resilience - or distorting it?" |
| 19:00 | Panel 3: "What does a resilient system look like - and what do we commit to?" |
| 19:30 | Wrap-up & Closing Commitments |
| 19:45 | Networking Reception |
MODERATORS
Annabel Seebohm | CEO Health4.EU | HCI Advisory Board
Christa Wirthumer-Hoche | Senior Regulatory Expert | HCI Advisory
Board
MEPS
Tomislav Sokol | MEP | Hosting Member of the European
Parliament
EU INSTITUTIONS
Agnès Mathieu-Mendes | EC, Head of Unit Medical Products,
Quality, Safety, Innovation, DG SANTE
Emer Cooke | Executive Director | EMA
Laurent Muschel | EC, Deputy Director General, DG HERA
Monica Dias | Head of Supply and Availability of Medicines
and Medical Devices | EMA
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS & REGULATORY AUTHORITIES
Gloria Ghéquière | Adviser, Cabinet of Deputy PM and
Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Frank Vandenbroucke
María Jesús Lamas Díaz | Director, AEMPS | Chair, HMA
Management Group | Member, EMA Management Board
INDUSTRY
Adrian van den Hoven | Director General | Medicines for
Europe
Nathalie Moll | Director General | EFPIA
Oliver Bisazza | Director General | MedTech Europe
Marco Farinelli | AstraZeneca | Chair, EFPIA Supply Chain
WG
Maurice Dantès | Pharma Logistic Austria
Matthias Heck | Senior Advisor Strategic Alliance
Development | EUCOPE
HEALTHCARE & PATIENTS
Ilaria Passarani | Secretary General | PGEU
Yannis Natsis | Director | ESIP
Sarada Das | Secretary General | CPME
|
17:00
30 min
|
Arrival & Welcome ReceptionGuests arrive and are welcomed. Informal networking before the programme begins. |
|
17:15
|
Formal OpeningHCI Welcome + MEP Tomislav Sokol — opening remarks |
|
18:00
100 min
18:00
18:30
19:00
|
Policy Dialogue — Three PanelsOne Policy Dialogue structured into three thematic panels of 30 minutes each, with a short 2-minute transition between panels.
A different core group of speakers participates in each panel — participants move to the high tables as their panel begins.
Panel 1 — Where does resilience break today?
(30 min)
Panel 2 — Are stockpiling and procurement strengthening resilience — or distorting it?
(30 min)
Panel 3 — What does a resilient healthcare system look like, and what do we commit to?
(30 min)
|
|
19:30
20 min
|
Wrap-up & Closing Commitments
Moderators draw three conclusions from the evening — naming unresolved tensions and areas of agreement. |
|
19:45
open
|
Networking ReceptionDrinks and finger food. |
Founder and CEO of Health4.EU, advising healthcare stakeholders on EU health policy and market access. Former Secretary General of COCIR (2022–2025), where she led the association’s digital and strategic transformation and represented it in the €2.4bn Innovative Health Initiative, and former Secretary General of the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), representing over 1.7 million physicians. A qualified lawyer (member of the Cologne Bar) with an LL.M. with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland, and a Fellow of the SCIANA Health Leaders Network.
Former Head of the Austrian Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (AGES Medizinmarktaufsicht) from 2013, and Chair of the EMA Management Board from 2016 to 2022 (two terms). A biochemist by training with a doctorate from the Technical University of Vienna, she spent her career in medicines quality assessment and marketing authorisation, latterly as one of Europe’s most senior medicines regulators.
Member of the European Parliament for the Croatian Democratic Union (EPP) since 2019 and a leading MEP on health. He was the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the Critical Medicines Act, and previously Parliament rapporteur on the European Health Data Space. He holds a PhD from KU Leuven on cross-border healthcare in the EU, sits on the Subcommittee on Public Health, and is also a senior academic in Zagreb.
Member of the European Parliament since 2024 and former European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety (2014–2019). He is the European Parliament’s (co-)rapporteur on the EU Biotech Act. A cardiovascular surgeon by profession, he was a co-signatory of Lithuania’s 1990 Act of Independence, served six terms in the Lithuanian parliament and as national Health Minister, and was WHO Special Envoy for the European Region from 2020.
Head of Unit for Medicinal Products — quality, safety and innovation (Unit D2) at the European Commission’s DG SANTE, the unit at the heart of EU medicines policy including the new pharmaceutical legislation and work on the Critical Medicines Act. A pharmacist by training with a diploma in pharmaceutical engineering, she has long led Commission work on medicines quality, safety and supply, including the Falsified Medicines Directive, the Clinical Trials Regulation and GMP/GDP standards.
Ms Cooke is Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency. Starting her mandate in November 2020 amid a public health crisis of unprecedented scale she announced “My number one priority will be to drive forward EMA’s response to the pandemic and the work already ongoing to support the development and approval of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.” Doing precisely that in her role at EMA, alongside her Chairmanship of ICMRA (2020-2025), has earned her various accolades including the ‘European of the Year 2022’ award by European Movement Ireland and Honorary Doctorates in Science (RCSI – 2023 and NUI – 2025). Ms Cooke obtained a pharmacy degree and master’s degrees in both Science and Business Administration from Trinity College Dublin.
Head of Supply and Availability of Medicines and Devices at EMA since 2021, responsible for implementing the Agency’s extended mandate on shortages under Regulation (EU) 2022/123. She co-chairs the HMA/EMA Task Force and chairs the Medicine Shortages SPOC Working Party. A pharmacist (Lisbon) with a PhD from Cardiff, she joined EMA in 2004.
Olivier Girard is the Head of Unit for Security of supplies, manufacturing and procurement in the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) of the European Union since 2022. He joined the European Commission in 2003, after beginning his career as a qualified FR/UK attorney specialising in banking and capital markets in London and in Paris. After having worked on financial services, single market and industrial policies in various functions, he was since 2018 Head of Unit in the Secretariat-general of the Commission in charge of industrial policy, research and innovation and the single market. His focus is on supporting development, manufacturing, access to and supply of medical countermeasures in the EU.
President of INFARMED — Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento e Produtos de Saúde, I.P. (National Authority of Medicines and Health Products, I.P.) since 2019, and Chair of the EMA Management Board since March 2025 (previously vice-chair and a Board member since 2016). A pharmacist and specialist in hospital pharmacy and pharmaceutical regulation, he is an Associate Professor of Medicines Regulation at the University of Lisbon and received the 2024 TOPRA Lifetime Achievement Award.
Master in Pharmacy (1997), Research fellow in the Dept. of Pharmacology, Philosophy Doctor (2004) in Pharmacology, cum laude with special recognition. Joined the public service at the Spanish Medicines Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices in 2004, working at the Inspection and Enforcement Department as GMP/GDP Inspector. Besides inspections, both at national and international level, he is representing AEMPS in EMA- GMDP Inspection Working Group and Committee of Officials of PIC/S. He is also engaged in enforcement topics (falsified medicines and illegal sale of medicines over the internet). The department he heads is also responsible for monitoring and managing supply shortages, the implementation of impact-reduction measures, and the investigation of their causes
Gloria Ghéquière is Deputy Head of Cabinet to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health Frank Vandenbroucke. She has a broad portfolio covering pharmaceutical policy, including budgetary responsibility, pricing and reimbursement, managing medicine shortages, substances of human origin, and clinical trials policy.
During Belgium’s 2024 EU Presidency, Ghéquière was instrumental in advancing the Critical Medicines Act, a landmark legislation addressing medicine shortages and supply security across Europe. This work reflects her sustained engagement with international pharmaceutical policy questions, particularly equitable access to medicines, resilience of global supply chains, and the intersection of trade policy and public health.
Prior to her cabinet role, Ghéquière served as adviser on international trade in the European Parliament, where she specialised in pharmaceutical value chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. She played a key role in establishing the Parliament’s Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic (COVI), which shaped EU policy responses to health crises.
Ghéquière holds degrees in Philosophy from Ghent University and European Studies from KU Leuven
Director General of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) since April 2017. She has some 30 years in the biotech and pharma sectors, previously serving seven years as Secretary General of EuropaBio — ranked Brussels’ most effective trade association in 2013 — and holds an honours degree in biochemistry and biotechnology from the University of St Andrews.
Director General of Medicines for Europe (generics, biosimilars and value-added medicines) since 2013, focusing on competition in off-patent markets, access, shortage reduction and EU industrial strategy. Formerly Deputy Director General of BusinessEurope, he sits on the boards of EMVO and IGBA and on HERA’s joint industry advisory council.
Chief Executive Officer of MedTech Europe since January 2023, having joined the association in 2017 and previously led its regulatory and industrial-policy work. Earlier roles include Director of Regulatory Policy EMEA at Medtronic and positions at COCIR and EDANA. A dual Australian-Maltese national, he holds degrees from the Australian National University and Aberystwyth University
Works in the Global Supply Chain function of AstraZeneca, where over more than ten years he has held accountability for market/product supply of the company’s medicines and vaccines across several European commercial affiliates — giving him a front-line, operational view of network design and continuity of supply. He also chairs the EFPIA Supply Chain Working Group and its Drug Shortage Work Stream. With 15 years in pharmaceutical supply chain, distribution and customer service, he holds a master’s in health care economics from Bocconi and and holds a PhD from Politecnico di Milano.
General Manager (Managing Director) of Pharma Logistik Austria GmbH, based in Wels, Austria, bringing a healthcare-distribution and logistics perspective on allocation and distribution visibility. His earlier career spans senior roles at Richter Pharma, Celesio and Haniel, with expertise in business strategy, change management and negotiation.
Stefano Romanelli is the Government Affairs Associate Director of the European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (EUCOPE). Stefano leads EUCOPE’s policy work on the Biotech Act, the EU General Pharmaceutical Legislation and the Critical Medicines Act. In addition to pharmaceutical legislation, his experiences include rare diseases, non-communicable diseases, AMR, and medicine shortages.
Secretary General of the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU), which represents more than 400,000 community pharmacists across 32 countries, since 2018. Italian, she brings a strong patient- and consumer-facing perspective from her earlier role as Head of the Food and Health Department at BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation, and previously served on the EMA Management Board.
Director of the European Social Insurance Platform (ESIP), the umbrella body for 45 national statutory social-security institutions across 18 countries, since 2022. Bringing a payer and procurement perspective, he previously led medicines-access advocacy at the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), served on the EMA Management Board (2019–2021) and is a board member of the European Health Forum Gastein.
Sarada Das is the Secretary General of the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME). CPME represents national medical associations across Europe and is committed to contributing the medical profession’s point of view to EU and European policy-making through pro-active cooperation on a wide range of health and healthcare related issues.
Ms Das has been working for CPME since 2009 and has i.a. assisted the CPME membership in its activities relating to professional practice and ethics. She was appointed as Secretary General in 2022.
Ms Das holds a B.A. in European Studies and an LL.M. in European Law from Maastricht University, as well as an M.Sc. in Business Economics and Management from KU Leuven.
Secretary-General of the European University Hospital Alliance (EUHA) since November 2023, the alliance of leading European university hospitals collaborating on excellence and innovation in healthcare, research and education. Trained at KU Leuven with research fellowships at Oxford, he specialised in medical microbiology and hospital management and served as medical director and governing-board member of University Hospital Leuven.
Rosa Castro is Public Affairs Director at EURORDIS – Rare Diseases Europe, which she joined in 2025. She works on advancing policies that improve treatment access for rare disease patients across Europe, drawing on extensive experience in European health policy across academic research, teaching, advocacy, and consultancy. Her expertise sits at the intersection of law, health, and innovation, with a particular focus on access to medicines. She holds a Master’s and PhD in Law and Economics and an MA in Bioethics and Science, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the European University Institute (Florence) and Duke University (USA).
