The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacy in the EU

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Registration as it was on 02 Feb 2024
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Overview

Since 20 September 2021 self-declared 'non-commercial organisations' are no longer required to provide a lobby budget. See above timeline for this registrant's historical lobby budget.

Lobbying Costs

None declared

Financial year: Jan 2023 - Dec 2023

Lobbyists (Full time equivalent)

0.5 Fte (1)

Lobbyists with EP accreditation

0

High-level Commission meetings

6

Lobbying Costs over the years

  • Info

    The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacy in the EU   (ASOP EU)

    EU Transparency Register

    273334013697-74 First registered on 27 May 2014

    Goals / Remit

    The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacy in the EU (ASOP EU: www.asop.eu) is united by a single objective; that by taking concerted voluntary actions, and campaigning for appropriate legislation, a safer environment for patients who choose to buy their medicines online can be created. ASOP EU comprises a number of supporters, members and observers including representatives from consumer, healthcare and patient groups, shippers, branded and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacy stakeholders, wholesalers, traders, advertising networks, internet advertising and search companies and market places, law enforcement and regulatory bodies. Similar organisations also exist in the United States, in particular the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies - Global (ASOP: http://buysaferx.pharmacy).
    ASOP EU is actively involved with all global actors and seeks to cooperate closely with Europol, Interpol, EUIPO, OECD and the Council of Europe allied with the Medicrime Convention activities

    Main EU files targeted

    Campaigning to ensure that implementation of the Falsified Medicines Directive continues to be successful, particularly the implementation of the safety features in the hospital sector which became mandatory on February 9th 2019 as well as the Common Logo. These will be achieved by raising public awareness through educational campaigns as well as EU Parliament roundtables. And also by collaboration with appropriate government medical regulatory bodies. Close liaison with its sister global organisation ASOP Global and also other non-profit organisations, such NABP and Fight the Fakes, to effect the best collaboration to support each other's goals.

    In 2021/2/3, ASOP EU has been campaigning to ensure the Digital Services Act and NIS2 covers the appropriate areas of the Internet, especially all Intermediaries and to ensure transparency of any business entity (by the provision of genuine and proven contact details). More recently ASOP EU has been campaigning for prescription medicines to be obtained online. Currently 8 Member States have allowed this for many years. A recent report carried out (Q4 2023) by an independent company - Copenhagen Economics amogst 5 Member Sates (n=5000) provided concrete evidence of the benefits especially to the chronically ill in terms of convenience and in term of convenience (time saving amongst other criteria) as well as enhance adherence to treatment regimens.

    Address

    Head Office
    London Road, 1386
    Leigh on Sea SS9 2UJ
    UNITED KINGDOM
    EU Office
    20 Madeira Park
    Tunbridge Wells tn2 5sx
    UNITED KINGDOM

    Website

    https://buysaferx.pharmacy/eu/

  • People

    Total lobbyists declared

    1

    Employment timeLobbyists
    50%1

    Lobbyists (Full time equivalent)

    0.5

    Lobbyists with EP accreditation

    No lobbyists with EP accreditations

    Complementary Information

    The ASOP EU coalition implements a series of activities with its supporters, members and observers with a major focus on raising public awareness, catalysing voluntary sector actions and campaigning for improvements to policy and legislation. Members participate through teleconferencing and key face to face meetings in close liaison with its ASOP Global counterpart with whom it has a MOU. This is a vital area of activity to protect patients from the rising tide of falsified / counterfeit medicines across Europe and the world. We would urge you to join this important patient safety initiative.

    Person in charge of EU relations

    Data not provided by Register Secretariat due to GDPR

    Person with legal responsibility

    Data not provided by Register Secretariat due to GDPR

  • Categories

    Category

    Non-governmental organisations, platforms and networks and similar

  • Networking

    Affiliation

    EU Health Coalition https://www.euhealthcoalition.eu/
    KYBC community www.kybc.eu
    NABP .pharmacy support group https://nabp.pharmacy/programs/dotpharmacy/#:~:text=NABP%20reviews%20pharmacies%20with%20an,to%20the%20verified%20websites%20list.
    EUIPO Civil Society member
    Established as an "Official Observer" of the Committee of Parties - Medicrime Convention

    Member organisations

    None declared

  • Financial Data

    Interests represented

    Does not represent commercial interests

    Closed financial year

    Jan 2023 - Dec 2023

    Lobbying costs for closed financial year

    Since 20 September 2021 self-declared 'non-commercial organisations' are no longer required to provide a lobby budget. See above timeline for this registrant's historical lobby budget.

    Total organisational budget in closed year

    33,917€

    Major funding types in closed year

    Grants, Member's contribution

    Major contributions in closed year

    TypeNameAmount
    Contribution Amazon Core Europe SARL 157,541€

    Other financial info

    None declared

  • EU Structures

    Groups (European Commission)

    none

    Groups (European Parliament)

    Artificial intelligence and digital

    Communication activities

    The organisation has completed in 2018 a comprehensive educational campaign via the use of Search engine "adwords" via a Google AdWord Grant which can help the patient and consumer find educational information that will help them to buy their medicines online (where it is legal to do so) more safely. In 2023 ASOP EU will further its involvement with public facing campaigns by collaborating with Member States agencies responsible for the administration and oversight of the Common Logo to support the initiation of public facing campaigns to educate the public on falsified medicines. A survey amongst 12 Member States was completed and many were in agreement to collaborate further and share good practices. In 2019 the ASOP EU was acknowledged as a contributor to a significant OECD/EUIPO report Illicit Trade - Trade in Pharmaceutical Products https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/web/observatory/trade-in-counterfeit-pharmaceutical-products. ASOP EU is an active supporter and member of the Advisory group of the NABP top level domain .pharmacy https://nabp.pharmacy/programs/dotpharmacy/#:~:text=NABP%20reviews%20pharmacies%20with%20an,to%20the%20verified%20websites%20list. In 2021 ASOP EU received official "Observer" status of the MediCrime Convention - The Committee of the Parties and has been contributing to the development of this international convention by submitting activities that will potentially enhance the effectiveness of the MediCrime Convention. These were presented in Strasbourg in Q3 2023, in a Plenary session where three activities were recommended 1. Alignment with the DSA 2. Market research to track and monitor progress of any in-country anti-counterfeiting initiatives 3. the adoption of a Top level Domain Name such as the NABP DotPharmacy suffix. ASOP EU has been campaigning to extend the scope of the Digital Services Act and to establish the KYBC principles for all intermediaries and has written letters to the EU parliament/Council and the Commission https://www.kybc.eu/media-positions/#open-letters. In addition it has contributed to the policy inputs on the NIS2 and will support at a country level to ensure that the transposition is as robust as possible. ASOP EU is now following the implementation of the DSA and supporting where it can with DG CONNECT. ASOP EU are Civil Society members of the EUIPO Observatory and has contributed to the Expert groups namely, Domain Names and more recently on the Search Engine work stream. ASOP EU was invited to join the KYBC UK Community and to support this with a patient safety evidence and to help build a healthcare KYBC UK community. ASOP EU is also championing the potential instrument that would, using a Google algorithm, identify and then demote websites selling illicit medicines to low search engine pages. ASOP EU will be holding a EU Parliament meeting on 12th February 2024 hosted by MEP Stelios Kympouropoulos the title of which is "The EU Pharmaceutical legislation - why should online access to prescription medicines be allowed?" within the framework of the Revision of the GPL.

    Other activities

    “Falsified Medicines – the Cost to Public Health“
    ASOP EU round table discussion in the European Parliament highlights major public health problem.

    A report by the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacy – EU (www.asop.eu) has highlighted the significant cost to the public health purse caused by highly organised criminal activity which results in patients and consumers buying falsified medicines online outside of Member State - controlled and regulated health systems. The report estimated that between 1-3bn euros is the cost of sales of falsified medicines in Europe in one year and that this number would increase despite all of the extra and successful measures being taken by law enforcement bodies such as INTERPOL and EUROPOL and national law enforcement bodies.
    ASOP - The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacy – EU plays a crucial role in bringing together, on a voluntary and collaborative basis, all stakeholders to create an environment that enables patients to buy their medicines online safely (where it is legal to do so).


    ASOP EU brief the European Commission

    In 2016-2018, ASOP EU held a series of meetings to support the Falsified Medicines Directive and the Common Logo initiative; a key pan-European patient safety initiative

    The Falsified Medicines Directive's Common Logo promises to be a major step forward in the security of selling medicines at a distance and online. ASOP EU and its sister organisations, ASOP Global will be fully supporting this initiative. To mark the launch of this support and the publication of ASOP EU position paper, ASOP Global, ASOP EU and CSIP held a series of meetings with DG SANTE, Health Attaches of EU Member States and directly with Member State officials who are responsible for the implementation of the Common Logo. These discussions were aptly timed, as the Common Logo must be implemented by July 2015. A further follow up meeting was co-hosted by AIFA (The Italian Medicines Agency) 15th October 2015. The European Parliament (EP) own-initiative report on “Safer Healthcare in Europe: Improving Patient Safety and Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance” which was approved in the EU Parliament Plenary on 19 May 2015 incorporated a number of significant amendments in line with ASOP EU recommendations namely: 22. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the introduction of the European logo provided for by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 699/2014 in order to identify clearly online pharmacies which offer medicines or sales to the public remotely while safeguarding consumers against the purchase of fake medicines, which are often a health hazard. During 2016 meetings were held in Brussels with Member State personnel involved with the successful implementation of the Common Logo. A teleconference with the same objective was held in January 2017 and a further meeting is planned for June 29th 2017 in the Google offices in Paris. For a fuller understanding of the activities of ASOP EU and the closely affiliated EAASM organisation (www.eaasm.eu) please go refer to the two latest newsletters which can be found here 1. New Year Newsletter 2018 https://eaasm.eu/cache/downloads/ene40aa3hds0o4cskog088w4w/ASOP%20EU%20EAASM%20Combined%20January%202018%20Newsletter.pdf 2. Autumn newsletter 2018https://eaasm.eu/cache/downloads/eh9r16u8pe888k4kcc8wk8088/Autumn%20newsletter%20WEB.pdf The latest newsletter can be found here which clearly highlights all of the various productive activities that ASOP EU undertakes https://eaasm.eu/public/downloads/0KH3E/EAASM_ASOP%20EU%20Spring%20Newsletter%202019.pdf In 2019 ASOP EU embarked on helping the top level country code .eu to help vet and verify suspicious websites with the help of the NABP. In addition it has contributed to various DG initaitives.

  • Meetings

    Meetings

    6 meetings found. Download meetings

    The list below only covers meetings held since November 2014 with commissioners, their cabinet members or directors-general at the European Commission; other lobby meetings with lower-level staff may have taken place, but the European Commission doesn't proactively publish information about these meetings. For more information about which commissioner is responsible for which portfolio, check out this link: https://commissioners.ec.europa.eu/index_en All information below comes from European Commission web pages.

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