Karen Birmingham

The European Union's plan to transform Europe's drug discovery industry borrows some of its style from the US - but not everything.

Last month the world's leading pharmaceutical company received simultaneous FDA approval for two new therapies. Yet neither drug was invented by the company. Both were originally developed by small biotechs.

The European Commission's Clinical Trials Directive was meant to make trials more simple. But it looks as if the effect has been to stop many trials taking place at all.

Europe looks increasingly likely to follow America’s lead and require drug companies to test their products in children. But Europe's pharma lack the resources to carry out drug trials in children — so industry and patients will have to rely on the skills developed in academic centres.