Roche will stop supplying drugs on credit terms to hospitals in Spain and Portugal, with supplies to Italy also in doubt.

The economic crisis spreading through Europe means that many hospitals are years behind with drug payments.

Patients in the worst-affected countries are facing critical shortages of expensive cancer drugs from Roche and other suppliers.

Roche has already refused to supply medicines to Greek hospitals on credit terms, and the company is adopting a hard line on unpaid bills.

A total of 12 hospitals in Spain and 23 in Portugal face a blockage on drugs from Roche, while Italian hospitals have been threatened with similar measures.

Roche’s spokesperson Silvia Dobry said that in Spain, “There are several hospitals that have not paid their bills for more than two years.” If they were able to reduce their level of debt, she added, credit might be resumed.

The Ministry of Health in Valencia said representatives of the region’s health and finance departments and the pharmaceutical industry have met to discuss the problem, which “will be remedied shortly”.

Spain’s regional governments are in talks with the pharmaceutical industry to defer payments.

The EMA is under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) over alleged conflicts of interest.

The investigation was raised by Michèle Rivasi, a French Member of the European Parliament, who claims independent oversight by the EMA is impossible due to the majority of its budget coming from pharma.

OLAF told The Independent the investigation opened in July, but “for reasons of judicial secrecy", could not give any further details.

It’s believed the inquiry relates to the Servier’s controversial diabetes drug Mediator. The medication was withdrawn from the European market in 2009, ten years after concerns were first raised the treatment may be responsible for fatal heart problems.

Mediator was on the market for more than three decades and was used as a weight loss drug taken by an estimated 5 million people in France alone, plus countless more in Italy and Spain. It is estimated the drug caused up to 2,000 deaths during its time on the market before it was withdrawn.

The fallout from the scandal saw the French regulator, the Health Products Safety Agency, overhauled and its chief executive resign after an official report found it had “failed in its duties”.

The EMA was formed back in 1995 to provide a collective voice on drug regulation systems in the EU. The Agency has been attempting to its transparency with a series of new working principles and said in October it had “strengthened the rules on how it handles potential conflicts of interest of its staff and experts" after criticism by the Budgetry Control Committee.

A spokesman for the Agency said it was aware of the inquiry but had yet to see any allegations. “We have a robust process for dealing with conflicts of interest. It is transparent and there's no attempt to hide anything,” he said.

A new specialised GPS tracking system, now available in the UK, enables carers and families to know where a person with dementia is at any moment.

The Keruve GPS Locator from Vision Localisation Systems combines a wristwatch tracker device and a portable receiver (pictured).

The device’s commercial launch in the UK took place on World Alzheimer’s Day (21 September).

Keruve is designed specifically for people with Alzheimer’s who want the freedom and independence of going for walks alone but who may become lost, a common symptom of the condition.

The GPS tracking watch, designed to resemble a wristwatch, communicates with the receiver so that a carer or family member can press a button to see where the person is.

The map on the receiver screen enables the carer to find the tracker wearer without needing to follow street names. The simple user interface is designed for carers who may lack confidence with new technology.

The Keruve watch combines four tracking systems, enabling the carer to find the user even if they are indoors or below ground. It has a safety lock so the user cannot take it off, includes an alarm button and can notify the carer if the user leaves their usual area.

Different models and designs of the watch are available. The strap is made of a thermosensitive material that adapts to the shape of the wrist and the user’s body temperature.

The Keruve tracking system has no distance limits and works from any location via the mobile phone network. It has been used since 2007 by hundreds of families, Alzheimer’s associations and care organisations worldwide.

Based in Spain, Vision Localisation Systems is a pioneer in the development of tracking systems for people with dementia.

The ABPI has warned a complete switch from the current Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) to a value-based pricing (VBP) approach may not halt a lack of UK innovation.

Britain’s pharmaceutical trade body is instead proposing the introduction of various aspects of VBP into the current system in favour of a complete overhaul.

Stephen Whitehead, Chief Executive, ABPI, said in an interview with The Telegraph that VBP “doesn't actually seem to do anything to encourage innovation”.

Governments in Spain, Greece, Italy and most recently Germany have introduced similar schemes in an attempt to save money with drugs priced according to their benefits to patients.

The existing PPRS ends in 2014 with the Coalition Government proposing a switch to VBP. The existing scheme regulates profits pharma companies can generate but does not decide individual prices.

Mr Whitehead welcomes the introduction of certain aspect of the new scheme, such as the societal benefits a new product may have, but believes an integrated approach would be more beneficial.

“We would like there to be a single holistic scheme that is low on bureaucracy, efficient, patient-focused and reflects an element of freedom of pricing which we have with the PPRS because it’s profit controlled,” he said.

A spokesperson for the DH defended the planned introduction of VPB saying: “We need a much closer link between the price the NHS pays and the value that a new medicine deliver.”

Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter recently campaigned to the German government that a switch to VBP there would ultimately discourage investment and innovation from the pharmaceutical industry.

Lundbeck has appointed Marie-Laure Pochon as its new Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations and slim lined its Executive Management Group in the process.

The new EVP has joined the Group after “realising high growth” as the Chief Executive of Lundbeck France and the Regional Vice President for France, Belgium, UK, Spain, Italy, Turkey & Germany.

Ulf Wiinberg, President and CEO, says he is “very pleased that Marie-Laure Pochon is joining Lundbeck’s Executive Management Group, where she can contribute with her strong commercial experience from a long career in the pharmaceutical industry”.

The company says it will “execute on many new opportunities” to implement its strategy and secure long-term growth and will reduce its Executive Management from six to four members in order to do so.

Peter Høngaard Andersen will now exit the Executive Management, but continue as part of Lundbeck’s corporate management team as Senior Vice President, External Scientific Relations & Patents.

Lars Bang will also leave the Group, but continue his role as Senior Vice President, Supply Operations & Engineering, leading Lundbeck’s global supply chain.

As a result, Anders Götzsche, Executive Vice President, CFO, Anders Gersel Pedersen, Executive Vice President, R&D, plus Ulf Wiinberg and Marie-Laure Pochon, now complete the Group.

A new study has found that radioembolisation improves survival chances of patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Hepatology reported that patients with tumours at different stages, including those with advanced liver cancer who had limited access to treatment options, are likely to benefit most from the procedure.

Dr Bruno Sangro from the Clinica Universitaria de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain said: “Our findings show strong evidence of the survival benefit with radioembolisation, even in patients with advanced disease who have few treatments options.”

Radioembolisation consists of a large dose of radiation directly delivered to the tumour via a small tube inserted in the groin.  Tumours routinely become resistant to chemotherapy but not to these lethal doses of radiation.

An advantage of the therapy is that all the pretreatment and therapy is done on an outpatient basis so that only a limited amount of time will be spent by the patient in hospital.

The study assessed 325 HCC patients at eight European centres. Results revealed an average overall survival rate of almost 13 months with radioembolisation.

Almost 700,000 people died of HCC in 2008, with more than 80% of cases caused by hepatitis B and C infections, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The National Cancer Institute estimates there will be 26,000 new cases of liver and bile duct cancer in the US by the end of 2011, resulting in 20,000 deaths.