Pharma-friendly Danes will be taking over the Polish presidency.

Poland, which advocated for European patients to have access to cutting-edge medicines faster, is wrapping up its Council presidency and passing the torch along to more pharma-friendly Denmark, whose role as a neutral broker may be questioned.

Warsaw fought hard to overhaul pharmaceutical laws that would shorten data protection monopolies in Europe and thus bring cheaper, generic versions of drugs to patients faster. 

However, negotiations for the EU’s pharmaceutical legislation – dubbed the pharma package – were complex, particularly as larger EU countries with significant innovative pharmaceutical industries like Denmark, Sweden, France, and Germany resisted the Polish proposal. 

In early June, the pharma heavyweights ultimately prevailed, as the EU agreed on a revised proposal on Wednesday to extend data protection for pharmaceutical companies compared to the Commission’s original plan. 

Now that the file will be in Denmark’s hands starting in July, the country will have to attempt to strike a deal with lawmakers at the European Parliament, who want to argue for a better balance between innovation and patient access.

Silence, for now 

Currently, pharma trade bodies – who were especially vocal about their disagreement with the Council deal for weakening intellectual property provisions – have kept their cards close to their chest about what Denmark’s presidency could mean for future negotiations. 

A spokesperson for the EU pharma lobby EFPIA, currently led by Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, told Euractiv that they want to “support an environment that fosters medical innovation and improves patient access across Europe.” 

The director of the EU generics industry group Medicines for Europe, Adrian van den Hoven, was diplomatic, stating that the negotiations should aim to find a balance that can support both the innovative and generics industry. 

“We believe the Danish Presidency will fulfil the mandate achieved under the Polish Presidency in negotiations,” said van den Hoven, trusting that they understand “not to be compromised by their national connections.”  

The Novo factor 

But Denmark has many national interests. The country is home to Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk, and its pharmaceutical industry makes up a large part of its economy, exporting around €18.2 billion worth of pharmaceutical products in 2024 alone.  

Their industry is also currently facing geopolitical pressure from the US administration, and Novo Nordisk’s share price has dropped since last year, which prompted their longtime CEO Jørgensen to step down. 

Denmark has also previously strongly opposed restricting protections for its industry. In 2023, the country penned a non-paper to other EU countries saying that cutting data protection monopolies was “cause for deep concern.”  

The country’s focus on innovative industry is likely to ramp up, too. In September, the Danish presidency planned an event with Novo Nordisk and other pharma companies like Takeda on rare diseases – conditions for which medication typically comes with steep price tags. 

Bigger picture 

For Jaime Manzano, a research and advocacy manager at Spanish drug transparency organisation Salud por Derecho, it doesn’t matter too much whether the file is in the hands of Poland or Denmark.

What does is that EU institutions are increasingly receptive to the pharma industry’s demands. Manzano said the Council deal was a “missed opportunity” in terms of successfully negotiating for shorter data protection monopolies.  

Add that to mounting pressure from pharma CEOs on the Commission, who are threatening to relocate their production to the US amid potential tariffs, EU diplomats have said they’re eager to seal a deal on the pharma package fast to incentivise their local industry.

The Danes also seem to be keen to secure the advantages for their industry as soon as they can. They’re already preparing more technical talks in July, with a parliament source telling Euractiv that they would want to push forward the agenda “without wasting a minute.” 

A recent work programme of the presidency shows that they want to finalise negotiations during their term.

Asked by Euractiv, a spokesperson at the Council simply called it a “work in progress.”