ABPI launches new Patient Advisory Council

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has launched a new Patient Advisory Council to provide its board and senior executive team with ‘meaningful patient engagement’.

This council will be comprised of six senior leaders from the patient charity sector, who will provide input on key policy issues to the ABPI board. They will also help to inform strategy, policy priorities and work plans across the ABPI.

The ABPI said in a statement that it is looking for council members who can bring their own knowledge, experience and views to ensures that decisions made by its board put ‘patients front and centre’.

The members will also be encouraged to act as representatives of the patient perspective across a number of relevant policy topics, including – but not limited to – outcomes-focused healthcare, medicines pricing, patient engagement in health technology assessment (HTA), healthcare data and collaboration.

These topics will continue to evolve, said the ABPI, as new issues and challenges arise in the UK health and social care environment.

“We have been encouraged by the constructive engagement industry has had with the patient community over the last few years, through the various forums we have set up to capture patient opinions. Now, we want to take that further,” said Colette Goldrick, executive director of strategy, research & partnerships at the ABPI.

"We can’t make decisions which affect patients without their input. Our new Patient Advisory Council is designed to bring those views to full, frank, and open discussions at the highest levels of the UK pharmaceutical industry,” she added.