| Review of: | EU Pharmaceutical Regulation: The Politics of Policy-Making by G. Permanand |
|---|---|
| Reviewed By: | Alasdair Blair |
| Reviewed in: | Journal of Common Market Studies |
| Date accepted online: | 02/11/2007 |
| Published in print: | Volume 45, Issue 2, Pages 515-533 |
Book Reviews
In this study of EU pharmaceutical regulation, Govin Permanand provides a detailed account of EU pharmaceutical policy through a strong conceptual and theoretical approach. Divided into eight chapters, the book is supported by an extensive list of tables, figures and appendices that help to clarify many of the points that are contained in the text. After an initial review of EU pharmaceutical policy and the regulation of the EU medicines sector, chapter 3 offers theoretical insights into the EU pharmaceutical policy, while chapter 4 offers a more specific framework of analysis through the use of policy networks. Case study material is evident in chapters 5, 6 and 7 through assessment of the Supplementary Protection Certificate, an examination of the European Medicines Agency, and an investigation into the pricing and reimbursement of medicines in the EU. In tackling these subjects the study is supported by 197 endnotes and based on 384 references. This level of detail is reflective of the book's genesis as a PhD thesis at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In transferring his thesis into a publishable work, Govin Permanand has managed to provide a readable and fluent text that fits well into the high-quality research monographs that are typical of the European Policy Research Unit (EPRU) series published by Manchester University Press. The great strength of Permanand's book is the way in which it examines the EU pharmaceutical regulation through a policy-making lens that seeks to show how the conflicting agendas of the EU Member States, the European Commission, interest groups and pharmaceutical industry are resolved. But while such an approach will ensure that this study will be of particular interest to scholars that have a keen interest in works that adopt a policy-making perspective, the depth of the content and the high-level nature of the analysis will make the book only accessible to the informed reader. To this end, while the book will provide a strong resource base from which scholars will be able to draw upon, it is nevertheless the case that it is less likely that it will have the same presence on reading lists that some of the other texts in the EPRU series have achieved.