Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
DUTCH PRIMARY SCHOOLS
BY ALAN OSBORN
A STUDY of 8,000 primary schools in the Netherlands has revealed “dirty, cramped and unsafe” conditions that have affected the morale of teaching staff and pupils. The report, drawn up by the Dutch research institute TNO on behalf of the country’s Ministry of Education, concludes that the schools themselves are partly to blame by diverting money from health and safety budgets to new educational programmes but says there is also a shortage of funding necessary for schools to comply with the Dutch Occupational Health and Safety and Building Acts.…
MUTUAL RECOGNITION
BY KEITH NUTHALL
FROM the beginning of next year exporters of medicinal products will find it easier to sell in Japan following completion of a Mutual Recognition Agreement between that country and the EU.
The deal includes a Good Manufacturing Practice agreement under which both sides will agree to honour each other’s testing, certification and approval of products.…
RULES OF ORIGIN
BY KEITH NUTHALL
WHEN pharmaceutical companies dilute imported medicinal ingredients to make a final product, they have in most instances legally created a new locally manufactured medicine, the rules of origin committee of the World Trade Organisation has ruled.
The decision means that worldwide, such products would in future be affected by duties, quotas and other import and export regulations relating to the country where they were diluted, rather than where the ingredients were produced.…
ANTIBIOTICS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EU Council of Ministers, (health), has adopted formal guidelines on the prudent use of antibiotics and other anti-microbial agents in human medicine, to contain the spread of resistance in viruses and bacteria to these pharmaceuticals.
This non-binding Recommendation asks national governments to provide public information on the subject, to use a precautionary ‘by prescription only’ approach, to carry out more research and to improve monitoring of consumption of these drugs.…
TERRORISM
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union-wide strategy to guarantee the production, supply and availability of medicines warding off the effects of a biological terrorist attack have been debated at a meeting between the European Commission and the EU pharmaceutical industry. They discussed possible threats, and how to ensure medicines are made available in emergencies.…
SIXTH FRAMEWORK LATEST
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Parliament has widened health research under the oncoming EU Sixth Framework Programme to include studies on traditional diseases, widening European Commission plans to limiting its life science work to genomics and biotechnology. By contrast, the parliament wants money spent on cancer, cardiovascular diseases, degenerative nervous system illnesses, (including CJD), diabetes, viral hepatitis C, allergies, rare diseases and ageing conditions.…
BUSQUIN SPEECH
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union research Commissioner Philippe Busquin has proposed the creation of a European Platform for Clinical Tests, a body whose aim would be to intensify and fast-track studies within the EU on AIDS/HIV, TB and malaria. He said that the platform would be a “cornerstone” of the Commission’s strategy against the diseases, especially where it is considering the needs of developing countries.…
GLOBAL FUND
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union ministers have been asked to approve the transfer of Euro 60 million from the general EU 2001 budget, (most of which is currently earmarked for fishery support), to help finance the UN’s Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries.…
OECD REPORT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
HEALTH experts have been discussing a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, (OECD), which has shown Britain performs poorly against its competitors in western Europe and north America, regarding the number of nurses employed per head of population in the late 1990’s.…
STRUCTURAL INDICATORS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has released new ‘structural indicators,’ used to measure economic and social progress in the EU. The statistical tools are important in assessments helping to decide which European regions need grants and other Brussels assistance. In its latest set of indicators, the Commission has included a requirement to measure concerns about climate change, sustainable transport, public health threats and the management of natural resources, along with those on gender pay gaps, quality of work, science and technology doctorates and the location of communications industries.…