"Who Controls Innovation?" (5/5) Beyond price: why Europe must rescue its essential medicines

Épisode de Pharma Minds par Nathalie Lahitte · 27 avril 2026 · 27 min

“They say health is priceless... but medicines have a cost.” — Karine Pinon

Welcome to Pharma Minds, in this series “Who controls innovation?”, we explore one question in two parts: who controls innovation - and who actually makes it happen.

We often talk about healthcare access in terms of price. But access also fundamentally depends on availability. Today, mature medicines - the essential, everyday treatments that sustain public health - operate on low margins and rely on highly fragile global supply chains.

In this final episode of the mini-series, we explore the reality of production with Karine Pinon, Founder and CEO of the LXO Group. Karine defends a clear and urgent idea: pharmaceutical production must remain economically viable in Europe. Since this conversation was recorded, that commitment has crystallized into MedFrance, the professional organization she founded to defend local pharmaceutical manufacturing. Because bringing production back home is not just an industrial issue - it is a matter of absolute sovereignty.

In this episode, we cover:

◾️The Cost of Health: Uncovering the true economics of medicine and why mature treatments are essential to public health despite being often overlooked.

◾️The Supply Chain Crisis: Why drug shortages happen and the immense pressure placed on pharmaceutical SMEs by heavy taxation and shrinking margins.

◾️Sovereignty & Local Production: Karine's fight to make local, transparent, and responsible manufacturing economically viable in France and Europe.

◾️The Future of Manufacturing: Why integrating sustainability, job creation, and transparency into the pharma strategy is a necessity for European independence.

As we conclude this series, a clear pattern appears: Innovation is a global competition. Access is negotiated locally. Production remains economically fragile.

👉 Should Europe actively support local pharmaceutical manufacturing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Science creates hope. Reality decides impact. If you want to follow the whole series, don't forget to subscribe!

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This episode has been translated with the help of AI tools.

Originally released on: 05/05/2025.

To listen to the original French version of this episode: https://smartlink.ausha.co/pharma-minds/36-medicaments-essentiels-la-strategie-de-lxo-pour-produire-local-et-durable-avec-karine-pinon

Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

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Bienvenue dans Pharma minds, le podcast qui vous emmène dans une aventure captivante à travers la Pharma et la Santé d'aujourd'hui ! Je suis votre hôte, Nathalie Lahitte. Mon objectif ? Découvrir comment des personnalités influentes ont contribué à façonner ce secteur. À chaque épisode, nous…

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