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European Medicines Agency

May 08, 2024

Not to be confused with European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA).[4][5]

European Medicines Agency

EMA headquarters in Amsterdam
Agency overview
Formed1 January 1995; 29 years ago (1995-01-01)
JurisdictionEuropean Union
HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands[1]
MottoScience. Medicines. Health.
Employees897[2]
Annual budget€478.4 million (2024)[3]
Agency executives
  • Emer Cooke, Executive Director
  • Christa Wirthumer-Hoche, Chairperson
Key document
  • Regulation (EC) No. 726/2004
Websiteema.europa.eu
Map
Amsterdam
European Medicines Agency (European Union)

The EMA was set up in 1995, with funding from the European Union and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as indirect subsidy from member states, its stated intention to harmonise (but not replace) the work of existing national medicine regulatory bodies. The hope was that this plan would not only reduce the €350 million annual cost drug companies incurred by having to win separate approvals from each member state but also that it would eliminate the protectionist tendencies of sovereign states unwilling to approve new drugs that might compete with those already produced by domestic drug companies.

The EMA was founded after more than seven years of negotiations among EU governments and replaced the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products and the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products, though both of these were reborn as the core scientific advisory committees. The agency was located in London prior to the United Kingdom's vote for withdrawal from the European Union, relocating to Amsterdam in March 2019.[6][7]

Operations edit

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) operates as a decentralised scientific agency (as opposed to a regulatory authority) of the European Union (EU) and its main responsibility is the protection and promotion of public and animal health, through the evaluation and supervision of medicines for human and veterinary use.[8] More specifically, it coordinates the evaluation and monitoring of centrally authorised products and national referrals, develops technical guidance and provides scientific advice to sponsors. Its scope of operations is medicinal products for human and veterinary use including biologics and advanced therapies, and herbal medicinal products. The agency is composed of the Secretariat (ca. 600 staff), a management board, seven scientific committees (human, veterinary and herbal medicinal products, orphan drugs, paediatrics, advanced therapies and pharmacovigilance risk assessment) and a number of scientific working parties.

The Secretariat is organised into five units: Directorate, Human Medicines Development and Evaluation, Patient Health Protection, Veterinary Medicines and Product Data Management, Information and Communications Technology and Administration. The Management Board provides administrative oversight to the Agency: including approval of budgets and plans, and selection of executive director. The Board includes one representative of each of the 27 Member States, two representatives of the European Commission, two representatives of the European Parliament, two representatives of patients' organisations, one representative of doctors' organisations and one representative of veterinarians' organisations. The Agency decentralises its scientific assessment of medicines by working through a network of about 4500 experts throughout the EU. The EMA draws on resources of over 40 National Competent Authorities (NCAs) of EU Member states.

The EMA additionally engages with international agencies and non-governmental organizations on areas of mutual interest, such as its participation on the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations' Joint Coordination Group.[9] It is also a benefactor of Health Level Seven International,[10] a member of the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use[11] and the International Pharmaceutical Regulators Programme (IPRP),[12] and a partner of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer[13] and Vaccine Confidence Project.[14]

Committees edit

Medicinal products for human use edit

A single evaluation is carried out through the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).[15] If the Committee concludes that the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicinal product is sufficiently proven, it adopts a positive opinion. This is sent to the European Commission to be transformed into a marketing authorisation valid for the whole of the EU. A special type of approval is the paediatric-use marketing authorisation (PUMA), which can be granted for medical products intended exclusively for paediatric use.[16]

The CHMP is obliged by the regulation to reach decisions within 210 days, though the clock is stopped if it is necessary to ask the applicant for clarification or further supporting data.[17]

The review process of the European Medicines Agency regarding medical issues has been criticized for its lack of transparency.[18] In a rebuttal of an EMS review that included her work, Louise Brinth, a Danish physician, noted that "experts" reviewing data remain unnamed and seem to be bound to secrecy. Minutes are not released and diverging opinions are not reported suggesting that all the "experts" are of the same opinion. In her view the process is unscientific and undemocratic.[19]

Medicinal products for veterinary use edit

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) operates in analogy to the CHMP as described above.[20]

Orphan medicinal products edit

The Committee on Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) administers the granting of orphan drug status since 2000. Companies intending to develop medicinal products for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or very serious conditions that affect not more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union can apply for 'orphan medicinal product designation'. The COMP evaluates the application and makes a recommendation for the designation which is then granted by the European Commission.[21]

Herbal medicinal products edit

The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC) assists the harmonisation of procedures and provisions concerning herbal medicinal products laid down in EU Member States, and further integrating herbal medicinal products in the European regulatory framework since 2004.[22]

Paediatry edit

The Paediatric Committee (PDCO) deals with the implementation of the paediatric legislation in Europe Regulation (EC) No 1901/2006 since 2007. Under this legislation, all applications for marketing authorisation of new medicinal products, or variations to existing authorisations, have to either include data from paediatric studies previously agreed with the PDCO, or obtain a PDCO waiver or a deferral of these studies.[23]

Advanced therapies edit

The Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) was established in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1394/2007 on advanced-therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) such as gene therapy, somatic cell therapy and tissue engineered products. It assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of ATMPs, and follows scientific developments in the field.[24]

Pharmacovigilance risk assessment edit

A seventh committee, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has come into function in 2012 with the implementation of the new EU pharmacovigilance legislation (Directive 2010/84/EU).[25]

Other activities edit

The Agency carries out a number of activities, including:

  • Pharmacovigilance: The Agency constantly monitors the safety of medicines through a pharmacovigilance network and EudraVigilance, so that it can take appropriate actions if adverse drug reaction reports suggest that the benefit-risk balance of a medicine has changed since it was authorised.
  • Referrals: The Agency coordinates arbitration procedures relating to medicinal products that are approved or under consideration by Member States in non-centralized authorisation procedures.
  • Scientific Advice: Companies wishing to receive scientific advice from the CHMP or CVMP on the appropriate tests and studies to carry out in the development of a medicinal products can request it prior to or during the development program.
  • Telematics projects: The Agency is responsible for implementing a central set of pan-European systems and databases such as EudraVigilance, EudraCT and EudraPharm.

Centralised marketing authorisations edit

The centralised procedure allows companies to submit a single application to the agency to obtain from the European Commission a centralised (or "community") marketing authorisation (MA) valid in all European Union member states and in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.[26] The centralised procedure is compulsory for all medicines derived from biotechnology and other high-tech processes, as well as for human medicines for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, auto-immune and other immune dysfunctions, and viral diseases, and for veterinary medicines for use for growth or yield enhancers. It is also compulsory for advanced-therapy medicines such as gene-therapy, somatic cell-therapy or tissue-engineered medicines and for orphan medicines (for rare diseases). The centralised procedure is also open to products that bring a significant therapeutic, scientific or technical innovation, or is in any other respect in the interest of patient or animal health. As a result, the majority of genuinely novel medicines are authorised through the EMA.

For products eligible for or requiring centralised approval, a company submits an application for a marketing authorisation to the EMA.

History edit

1995-2004: Inception edit

The EMA was set up in 1995, with funding from the European Union and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as indirect subsidy from member states, its stated intention to harmonise (but not replace) the work of existing national medicine regulatory bodies. The hope was that this plan would not only reduce the €350 million annual cost drug companies incurred by having to win separate approvals from each member state but also that it would eliminate the protectionist tendencies of Sovereign states unwilling to approve new drugs that might compete with those already produced by domestic drug companies.[citation needed]

The EMA was founded after more than seven years of negotiations among EU governments and replaced the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products and the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products, though both of these were reborn as the core scientific advisory committees. The agency was located in London prior to the United Kingdom's vote for withdrawal from the European Union, relocating to Amsterdam in March 2019.[6][7]

2004: Renaming edit

Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA).[4][5]

The EMA contributed to the Global Vaccine Action Plan developed by the Decade of Vaccines Collaboration, endorsed by the 194 Member States of the World Health Assembly in May 2012, and published on the World Health Organization's website in February 2013.[27]

2019: Relocation edit

Following the 2016 decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union ("Brexit"), the EMA chose to search for another base of operations. According to EU Law the European Commission had to decide on the fate of the EMA's location. The EU ministers met to vote on their preferred successor.[28] The EU's Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said that the preferred choice would be a location where an "easy set up and guarantee of smooth operations" would be available. Member states who had expressed their bid for the new EMA location were Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden (or in other words all remaining member countries except for the Baltic States and Luxembourg).[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]

It had also been speculated that the Strasbourg-based seat for the European Parliament could be moved to Brussels, in exchange for the city to host the EMA.[39] Others speculated on the merits of Amsterdam, well before the final decision was made.[40][41]

The decision on the relocation was made on 20 November 2017, during the EU General Affairs Council meeting,[41] after three voting rounds and finally drawing of lots. After the first round of voting, Milan (25 votes), Amsterdam (20 votes) and Copenhagen (20 votes) were the only contenders left. After the second voting round, two cities were left: Milan (twelve votes) and Amsterdam (nine votes). These two cities tied in the subsequent vote (thirteen votes each), after which a drawing of lots identified Amsterdam as the host city of EMA.[42]

EMA staff left its London premises in March 2019 to relocate to a temporary building in Amsterdam, and by January 2020 the relocation to the permanent building in Amsterdam Zuidas district was finalised.[1]

2020: COVID-19 edit

Main article: European Union response to the COVID-19 pandemic

The EMA played a significant role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the European Union, seeking to expedite the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.[43]

It participated in the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) public–private partnership hosted by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, collaborating with international government agencies and corporations to coordinate a research strategy for prioritizing and speeding up development of COVID-19 vaccines and pharmaceutical products.[44]

While in the process of evaluating the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020, the EMA suffered a cyberattack, resulting in the leak of classified regulatory documents to journalists, academics and the public via the dark web.[45][46][47] The documents revealed internal concerns about low production quality in the mRNA vaccine candidate, and regulators' efforts to have Pfizer and BioNTech rectify these deficiencies.[48][49][50] The EMA ultimately authorized the vaccine on 21 December 2020, satisfied that the product quality was "sufficiently consistent and acceptable."[51][52]

Comparison with other medical regulatory agencies edit

Main article: Regulation of therapeutic goods

As of 2016, the EMA was roughly parallel to the drug part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),[53] but without centralisation.[54] The timetable for product approval via the EMA's centralised procedure of 210 days compares well with the average of 500 days taken by the FDA in 2008 to evaluate a product.[55]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Relocation to Amsterdam". European Medicines Agency. 17 September 2018. from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  2. ^ "European Medicines Agency (EMA) | European Union". europa.eu. 26 February 2020. from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Funding | European Medicines Agency (EMA)" (PDF). European Medicines Agency. 8 January 2024. (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b Set up by EC Regulation No. 2309/93 as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products, and renamed by EC Regulation No. 726/2004 to the European Medicines Agency, it had the acronym EMEA until December 2009. The European Medicines Agency does not call itself EMA either – it has no official acronym but may reconsider if EMA becomes commonly accepted (see communication on new visual identity 1 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine and logo 25 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine).
  5. ^ a b . PMLive. 14 December 2009. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b Hrabovszki, Georgina (11 March 2019). "EMA now operating from Amsterdam". European Medicines Agency. from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b "United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union ('Brexit')". European Medicines Agency. 17 September 2018. from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  8. ^ M. Jacobs, David (2015). "European Medicines Agency (EMA)". Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology (4 ed.). pp. 1449–1460. doi:10.1081/E-EPT4-120050267. ISBN 9781351124874. from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Who we are". Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Benefactors of Health Level Seven". Health Level Seven International. from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Members & Observers". International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Members & Observers". International Pharmaceutical Regulators Programme. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Cancer Immunotherapy Partnerships and Collaborations". Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  14. ^ . Vaccine Confidence Project. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Committee for Medicinal Products Human Use (CHMP)". European Medicines Agency (EMA). 17 September 2018. from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  16. ^ (PDF). European Medicines Agency (EMA). 13 September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2016.
  17. ^ "The evaluation of medicines, step-by-step". European Medicines Agency (EMA). 25 November 2023. from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  18. ^ . Cochrane Nordic. 2017. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  19. ^ Louise Brinth: Responsum to Assessment Report on HPV-vaccines released by EMA November 26th 2015., online (PDF; 1,3 MB) 7 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ . European Medicines Agency (EMA). 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Orphan designation: Overview". European Medicines Agency. 17 September 2018. from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Herbal medicinal products". European Medicines Agency (EMA). 17 September 2018. from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Paediatric Regulation". European Medicines Agency (EMA). 17 September 2018. from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  24. ^ European Medicines Agency (3 December 2019). "Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT)". European Medicines Agency. from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  25. ^ European Medicines Agency (3 December 2019). "Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC)". European Medicines Agency. from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Marketing authorisation". European Medicines Agency. 17 September 2018. from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Annex 5: Countries and Organizations that Contributed to the Elaboration of the GVAP" (PDF). World Health Organization. Decade of Vaccines Collaboration. (PDF) from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Offers to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA)". European Council. from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  29. ^ "Finland is an excellent place for European Medicines Agency". Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. 12 April 2017. from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  30. ^ Wintour, Patrick (15 February 2017). "Countries line up to host European Medicines Agency after it leaves UK". The Guardian. from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  31. ^ . The Dutch Bid for EMA. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  32. ^ Wintour, Patrick (15 February 2017). "Countries line up to host European Medicines Agency after it leaves UK". The Guardian. from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  33. ^ Morgan, Sam (23 March 2017). "Romania looks to poach EU medicines agency from UK". Euractiv. from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  34. ^ "A Brexit pill for Romania". Global Counsel UK. 13 April 2017. from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  35. ^ Julia Bradshaw (8 December 2016). "Sweden launches campaign to host EU drugs agency instead of UK after Brexit". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  36. ^ Zapcic, Andreja (29 March 2017). "Kujundžić: Hrvatska je spremna preuzeti Europsku agenciju za lijekove" [Kujundžić: Croatia Is Ready to Take Over the European Medicines Agency] (in Croatian). T-portal. from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  37. ^ "Strasbourg could trade Parliament seat for medicines agency". Reuters. 10 May 2017. from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022 – via Euractiv.
  38. ^ Underwood, George (27 September 2017). "EMA staff favour move to Amsterdam". Pharma Times. from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  39. ^ a b Vesper, Inga (12 October 2017). "European drug regulation at risk of stalling as agency prepares to leave London". Nature News. from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  40. ^ Bocci, Michele (20 November 2017). "Ema, Milano passa al secondo turno di votazioni con Amsterdam e Copenhagen" [Ema, Milan passes second in terms of votes with Amsterdam and Copenhangen]. la Repubblica (in Italian). from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  41. ^ "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)". European Medicines Agency. 29 January 2020. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  42. ^ "ACTIV". National Institutes of Health (NIH). Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  43. ^ Stubbs, Jack (9 December 2020). "Hackers steal Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine data in Europe, companies say". Reuters. from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  44. ^ "Cyberattack on EMA – update 5". European Medicines Agency. 15 January 2021. from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  45. ^ "Statement on EMA Cyberattack". Pfizer. 9 December 2020. from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  46. ^ Tinari, Serena (10 March 2021). "The EMA covid-19 data leak, and what it tells us about mRNA instability". BMJ. 372: n627. doi:10.1136/bmj.n627. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 33692030. from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  47. ^ Abbasi, Jennifer (13 April 2021). "Data Leak Exposes Early COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing Hiccups". JAMA. 325 (14): 1385. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.5002. ISSN 0098-7484. PMID 33847730.
  48. ^ Lovett, Samuel (11 March 2021). "European regulator raised concern over quality of early Pfizer vaccine batches, leaked emails show". The Independent. from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  49. ^ Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) (19 February 2021). "European public assessment report (EPAR) – Comirnaty, INN-COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine (nucleoside-modified)" (PDF). European Medicines Agency. (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  50. ^ Kansteiner, Fraser (15 March 2021). "Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine faced EMA manufacturing concerns ahead of emergency nod: report". Fierce Pharma. from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  51. ^ Gu, A; Patel, D; Nayak, R (2016). "Chapter 10: Drug shortages". In Fulda, TR; Lyles, A; Wertheimer (eds.). Pharmaceutical Public Policy. CRC Press. pp. 151–160. ISBN 9781498748513.
  52. ^ Boslaugh, SE (2015). "European Medicines Agency". The SAGE Encyclopedia of Pharmacology and Society. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781506346182.
  53. ^ Sherwood, Ted (16 April 2008). (PDF). Food and Drug Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2010.

Further reading edit

External links edit

  • Official website
  • EMA Annual Report 2018
  • Heads of Medicines Agencies
  • The Rules Governing Medicinal Products in the European Union (EudraLex)
  • Health-EU Portal official public health portal of the European Union

May 08, 2024
european, medicines, agency, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, lead, section, long, please, read, length, guidelines, help, move, details, . This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article s lead section may be too long Please read the length guidelines and help move details into the article s body November 2023 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources European Medicines Agency news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Not to be confused with European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines amp HealthCare The European Medicines Agency EMA is an agency of the European Union EU in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products Prior to 2004 it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or European Medicines Evaluation Agency EMEA 4 5 European Medicines AgencyEMA headquarters in AmsterdamAgency overviewFormed1 January 1995 29 years ago 1995 01 01 JurisdictionEuropean UnionHeadquartersAmsterdam Netherlands 1 MottoScience Medicines Health Employees897 2 Annual budget 478 4 million 2024 3 Agency executivesEmer Cooke Executive DirectorChrista Wirthumer Hoche ChairpersonKey documentRegulation EC No 726 2004Websiteema wbr europa wbr euMapAmsterdamEuropean Medicines Agency European Union The EMA was set up in 1995 with funding from the European Union and the pharmaceutical industry as well as indirect subsidy from member states its stated intention to harmonise but not replace the work of existing national medicine regulatory bodies The hope was that this plan would not only reduce the 350 million annual cost drug companies incurred by having to win separate approvals from each member state but also that it would eliminate the protectionist tendencies of sovereign states unwilling to approve new drugs that might compete with those already produced by domestic drug companies The EMA was founded after more than seven years of negotiations among EU governments and replaced the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products and the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products though both of these were reborn as the core scientific advisory committees The agency was located in London prior to the United Kingdom s vote for withdrawal from the European Union relocating to Amsterdam in March 2019 6 7 Contents 1 Operations 1 1 Committees 1 1 1 Medicinal products for human use 1 1 2 Medicinal products for veterinary use 1 1 3 Orphan medicinal products 1 1 4 Herbal medicinal products 1 1 5 Paediatry 1 1 6 Advanced therapies 1 1 7 Pharmacovigilance risk assessment 1 2 Other activities 1 3 Centralised marketing authorisations 2 History 2 1 1995 2004 Inception 2 2 2004 Renaming 2 3 2019 Relocation 2 4 2020 COVID 19 3 Comparison with other medical regulatory agencies 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksOperations editThe European Medicines Agency EMA operates as a decentralised scientific agency as opposed to a regulatory authority of the European Union EU and its main responsibility is the protection and promotion of public and animal health through the evaluation and supervision of medicines for human and veterinary use 8 More specifically it coordinates the evaluation and monitoring of centrally authorised products and national referrals develops technical guidance and provides scientific advice to sponsors Its scope of operations is medicinal products for human and veterinary use including biologics and advanced therapies and herbal medicinal products The agency is composed of the Secretariat ca 600 staff a management board seven scientific committees human veterinary and herbal medicinal products orphan drugs paediatrics advanced therapies and pharmacovigilance risk assessment and a number of scientific working parties The Secretariat is organised into five units Directorate Human Medicines Development and Evaluation Patient Health Protection Veterinary Medicines and Product Data Management Information and Communications Technology and Administration The Management Board provides administrative oversight to the Agency including approval of budgets and plans and selection of executive director The Board includes one representative of each of the 27 Member States two representatives of the European Commission two representatives of the European Parliament two representatives of patients organisations one representative of doctors organisations and one representative of veterinarians organisations The Agency decentralises its scientific assessment of medicines by working through a network of about 4500 experts throughout the EU The EMA draws on resources of over 40 National Competent Authorities NCAs of EU Member states The EMA additionally engages with international agencies and non governmental organizations on areas of mutual interest such as its participation on the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations Joint Coordination Group 9 It is also a benefactor of Health Level Seven International 10 a member of the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use 11 and the International Pharmaceutical Regulators Programme IPRP 12 and a partner of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 13 and Vaccine Confidence Project 14 Committees edit Medicinal products for human use edit A single evaluation is carried out through the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use CHMP 15 If the Committee concludes that the quality safety and efficacy of the medicinal product is sufficiently proven it adopts a positive opinion This is sent to the European Commission to be transformed into a marketing authorisation valid for the whole of the EU A special type of approval is the paediatric use marketing authorisation PUMA which can be granted for medical products intended exclusively for paediatric use 16 The CHMP is obliged by the regulation to reach decisions within 210 days though the clock is stopped if it is necessary to ask the applicant for clarification or further supporting data 17 The review process of the European Medicines Agency regarding medical issues has been criticized for its lack of transparency 18 In a rebuttal of an EMS review that included her work Louise Brinth a Danish physician noted that experts reviewing data remain unnamed and seem to be bound to secrecy Minutes are not released and diverging opinions are not reported suggesting that all the experts are of the same opinion In her view the process is unscientific and undemocratic 19 Medicinal products for veterinary use edit The Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use CVMP operates in analogy to the CHMP as described above 20 Orphan medicinal products edit The Committee on Orphan Medicinal Products COMP administers the granting of orphan drug status since 2000 Companies intending to develop medicinal products for the diagnosis prevention or treatment of life threatening or very serious conditions that affect not more than five in 10 000 persons in the European Union can apply for orphan medicinal product designation The COMP evaluates the application and makes a recommendation for the designation which is then granted by the European Commission 21 Herbal medicinal products edit The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products HMPC assists the harmonisation of procedures and provisions concerning herbal medicinal products laid down in EU Member States and further integrating herbal medicinal products in the European regulatory framework since 2004 22 Paediatry edit The Paediatric Committee PDCO deals with the implementation of the paediatric legislation in Europe Regulation EC No 1901 2006 since 2007 Under this legislation all applications for marketing authorisation of new medicinal products or variations to existing authorisations have to either include data from paediatric studies previously agreed with the PDCO or obtain a PDCO waiver or a deferral of these studies 23 Advanced therapies edit The Committee for Advanced Therapies CAT was established in accordance with Regulation EC No 1394 2007 on advanced therapy medicinal products ATMPs such as gene therapy somatic cell therapy and tissue engineered products It assesses the quality safety and efficacy of ATMPs and follows scientific developments in the field 24 Pharmacovigilance risk assessment edit A seventh committee the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee PRAC has come into function in 2012 with the implementation of the new EU pharmacovigilance legislation Directive 2010 84 EU 25 Other activities edit The Agency carries out a number of activities including Pharmacovigilance The Agency constantly monitors the safety of medicines through a pharmacovigilance network and EudraVigilance so that it can take appropriate actions if adverse drug reaction reports suggest that the benefit risk balance of a medicine has changed since it was authorised Referrals The Agency coordinates arbitration procedures relating to medicinal products that are approved or under consideration by Member States in non centralized authorisation procedures Scientific Advice Companies wishing to receive scientific advice from the CHMP or CVMP on the appropriate tests and studies to carry out in the development of a medicinal products can request it prior to or during the development program Telematics projects The Agency is responsible for implementing a central set of pan European systems and databases such as EudraVigilance EudraCT and EudraPharm Centralised marketing authorisations edit The centralised procedure allows companies to submit a single application to the agency to obtain from the European Commission a centralised or community marketing authorisation MA valid in all European Union member states and in Iceland Liechtenstein and Norway 26 The centralised procedure is compulsory for all medicines derived from biotechnology and other high tech processes as well as for human medicines for the treatment of HIV AIDS cancer diabetes neurodegenerative diseases auto immune and other immune dysfunctions and viral diseases and for veterinary medicines for use for growth or yield enhancers It is also compulsory for advanced therapy medicines such as gene therapy somatic cell therapy or tissue engineered medicines and for orphan medicines for rare diseases The centralised procedure is also open to products that bring a significant therapeutic scientific or technical innovation or is in any other respect in the interest of patient or animal health As a result the majority of genuinely novel medicines are authorised through the EMA For products eligible for or requiring centralised approval a company submits an application for a marketing authorisation to the EMA History edit1995 2004 Inception edit The EMA was set up in 1995 with funding from the European Union and the pharmaceutical industry as well as indirect subsidy from member states its stated intention to harmonise but not replace the work of existing national medicine regulatory bodies The hope was that this plan would not only reduce the 350 million annual cost drug companies incurred by having to win separate approvals from each member state but also that it would eliminate the protectionist tendencies of Sovereign states unwilling to approve new drugs that might compete with those already produced by domestic drug companies citation needed The EMA was founded after more than seven years of negotiations among EU governments and replaced the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products and the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products though both of these were reborn as the core scientific advisory committees The agency was located in London prior to the United Kingdom s vote for withdrawal from the European Union relocating to Amsterdam in March 2019 6 7 2004 Renaming edit Prior to 2004 it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or European Medicines Evaluation Agency EMEA 4 5 The EMA contributed to the Global Vaccine Action Plan developed by the Decade of Vaccines Collaboration endorsed by the 194 Member States of the World Health Assembly in May 2012 and published on the World Health Organization s website in February 2013 27 2019 Relocation edit Following the 2016 decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union Brexit the EMA chose to search for another base of operations According to EU Law the European Commission had to decide on the fate of the EMA s location The EU ministers met to vote on their preferred successor 28 The EU s Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said that the preferred choice would be a location where an easy set up and guarantee of smooth operations would be available Member states who had expressed their bid for the new EMA location were Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Malta the Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain and Sweden or in other words all remaining member countries except for the Baltic States and Luxembourg 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 It had also been speculated that the Strasbourg based seat for the European Parliament could be moved to Brussels in exchange for the city to host the EMA 39 Others speculated on the merits of Amsterdam well before the final decision was made 40 41 The decision on the relocation was made on 20 November 2017 during the EU General Affairs Council meeting 41 after three voting rounds and finally drawing of lots After the first round of voting Milan 25 votes Amsterdam 20 votes and Copenhagen 20 votes were the only contenders left After the second voting round two cities were left Milan twelve votes and Amsterdam nine votes These two cities tied in the subsequent vote thirteen votes each after which a drawing of lots identified Amsterdam as the host city of EMA 42 EMA staff left its London premises in March 2019 to relocate to a temporary building in Amsterdam and by January 2020 the relocation to the permanent building in Amsterdam Zuidas district was finalised 1 2020 COVID 19 edit Main article European Union response to the COVID 19 pandemic The EMA played a significant role in the response to the COVID 19 pandemic in the European Union seeking to expedite the development and approval of COVID 19 vaccines and treatments 43 It participated in the Accelerating COVID 19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines ACTIV public private partnership hosted by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health collaborating with international government agencies and corporations to coordinate a research strategy for prioritizing and speeding up development of COVID 19 vaccines and pharmaceutical products 44 While in the process of evaluating the Pfizer BioNTech COVID 19 vaccine in December 2020 the EMA suffered a cyberattack resulting in the leak of classified regulatory documents to journalists academics and the public via the dark web 45 46 47 The documents revealed internal concerns about low production quality in the mRNA vaccine candidate and regulators efforts to have Pfizer and BioNTech rectify these deficiencies 48 49 50 The EMA ultimately authorized the vaccine on 21 December 2020 satisfied that the product quality was sufficiently consistent and acceptable 51 52 Comparison with other medical regulatory agencies editMain article Regulation of therapeutic goodsAs of 2016 the EMA was roughly parallel to the drug part of the U S Food and Drug Administration FDA 53 but without centralisation 54 The timetable for product approval via the EMA s centralised procedure of 210 days compares well with the average of 500 days taken by the FDA in 2008 to evaluate a product 55 See also editEthics Committee EudraCT EudraGMP EudraLex EUDRANET EudraPharm EudraVigilance European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control ECDC European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations European Forum for Good Clinical Practice EFGCP ICH Inverse benefit law Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency MHRA UK Qualified person Regulation of therapeutic goods Supplementary protection certificate SPC References edit a b Relocation to Amsterdam European Medicines Agency 17 September 2018 Archived from the original on 15 October 2019 Retrieved 16 January 2021 European Medicines Agency EMA European Union europa eu 26 February 2020 Archived from the original on 8 April 2019 Retrieved 26 February 2020 Funding European Medicines Agency EMA PDF European Medicines Agency 8 January 2024 Archived PDF from the original on 26 March 2024 Retrieved 26 March 2024 a b Set up by EC Regulation No 2309 93 as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products and renamed by EC Regulation No 726 2004 to the European Medicines Agency it had the acronym EMEA until December 2009 The European Medicines Agency does not call itself EMA either it has no official acronym but may reconsider if EMA becomes commonly accepted see communication on new visual identity Archived 1 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine and logo Archived 25 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine a b EMEA becomes EMA PMLive 14 December 2009 Archived from the original on 22 November 2022 Retrieved 6 October 2017 a b Hrabovszki Georgina 11 March 2019 EMA now operating from Amsterdam European Medicines Agency Archived from the original on 16 October 2019 Retrieved 12 March 2019 a b United Kingdom s withdrawal from the European Union Brexit European Medicines Agency 17 September 2018 Archived from the original on 15 September 2019 Retrieved 16 September 2019 M Jacobs David 2015 European Medicines Agency EMA Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology 4 ed pp 1449 1460 doi 10 1081 E EPT4 120050267 ISBN 9781351124874 Archived from the original on 26 December 2022 Retrieved 26 December 2022 Who we are Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations Archived from the original on 19 October 2022 Retrieved 16 September 2023 Benefactors of Health Level Seven Health Level Seven International Archived from the original on 1 June 2023 Retrieved 17 September 2023 Members amp Observers International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use Archived from the original on 24 April 2022 Retrieved 17 September 2023 Members amp Observers International Pharmaceutical Regulators Programme Archived from the original on 24 April 2022 Retrieved 17 September 2023 Cancer Immunotherapy Partnerships and Collaborations Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Archived from the original on 27 March 2023 Retrieved 17 September 2023 Partnerships Vaccine Confidence Project Archived from the original on 28 April 2022 Retrieved 17 September 2023 Committee for Medicinal Products Human Use CHMP European Medicines Agency EMA 17 September 2018 Archived from the original on 15 August 2022 Retrieved 26 July 2020 Questions and answers on the paediatric use marketing authorisation PUMA PDF European Medicines Agency EMA 13 September 2011 Archived from the original PDF on 15 April 2016 The evaluation of medicines step by step European Medicines Agency EMA 25 November 2023 Archived from the original on 25 November 2023 Retrieved 25 November 2023 Complaint filed to the European Medicines Agency over maladministration related to safety of the HPV vaccines Cochrane Nordic 2017 Archived from the original on 31 August 2017 Retrieved 16 January 2021 Louise Brinth Responsum to Assessment Report on HPV vaccines released by EMA November 26th 2015 online PDF 1 3 MB Archived 7 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine Committee for Medicinal Products Veterinary Use CVMP European Medicines Agency EMA 17 September 2018 Archived from the original on 27 May 2021 Retrieved 26 July 2020 Orphan designation Overview European Medicines Agency 17 September 2018 Archived from the original on 26 December 2022 Retrieved 26 December 2022 Herbal medicinal products European Medicines Agency EMA 17 September 2018 Archived from the original on 30 June 2018 Retrieved 26 December 2022 Paediatric Regulation European Medicines Agency EMA 17 September 2018 Archived from the original on 26 December 2022 Retrieved 26 December 2022 European Medicines Agency 3 December 2019 Committee for Advanced Therapies CAT European Medicines Agency Archived from the original on 10 December 2019 Retrieved 3 December 2019 European Medicines Agency 3 December 2019 Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee PRAC European Medicines Agency Archived from the original on 11 October 2021 Retrieved 3 December 2019 Marketing authorisation European Medicines Agency 17 September 2018 Archived from the original on 3 May 2021 Retrieved 23 March 2021 Annex 5 Countries and Organizations that Contributed to the Elaboration of the GVAP PDF World Health Organization Decade of Vaccines Collaboration Archived PDF from the original on 17 September 2023 Retrieved 17 September 2023 Offers to host the European Medicines Agency EMA European Council Archived from the original on 13 December 2017 Retrieved 14 September 2017 Reuters Twenty one countries vie to host EU drug agency after Brexit Reuters 10 April 2017 Archived from the original on 11 August 2017 Retrieved 10 August 2017 Offers to host the European Medicines Agency EMA European Council Archived from the original on 6 August 2017 Retrieved 10 August 2017 Finland is an excellent place for European Medicines Agency Ministry of Social Affairs and Health 12 April 2017 Archived from the original on 18 April 2021 Retrieved 18 April 2017 Wintour Patrick 15 February 2017 Countries line up to host European Medicines Agency after it leaves UK The Guardian Archived from the original on 1 April 2017 Retrieved 1 April 2017 Homepage The Dutch Bid for EMA The Dutch Bid for EMA Archived from the original on 14 July 2017 Retrieved 13 July 2017 Wintour Patrick 15 February 2017 Countries line up to host European Medicines Agency after it leaves UK The Guardian Archived from the original on 29 April 2017 Retrieved 8 May 2017 Morgan Sam 23 March 2017 Romania looks to poach EU medicines agency from UK Euractiv Archived from the original on 30 April 2017 Retrieved 8 May 2017 A Brexit pill for Romania Global Counsel UK 13 April 2017 Archived from the original on 11 August 2017 Retrieved 8 May 2017 Julia Bradshaw 8 December 2016 Sweden launches campaign to host EU drugs agency instead of UK after Brexit The Telegraph Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 1 April 2017 Zapcic Andreja 29 March 2017 Kujundzic Hrvatska je spremna preuzeti Europsku agenciju za lijekove Kujundzic Croatia Is Ready to Take Over the European Medicines Agency in Croatian T portal Archived from the original on 29 March 2017 Retrieved 1 April 2017 Strasbourg could trade Parliament seat for medicines agency Reuters 10 May 2017 Archived from the original on 22 November 2022 Retrieved 26 December 2022 via Euractiv Underwood George 27 September 2017 EMA staff favour move to Amsterdam Pharma Times Archived from the original on 5 October 2017 Retrieved 19 October 2017 a b Vesper Inga 12 October 2017 European drug regulation at risk of stalling as agency prepares to leave London Nature News Archived from the original on 17 May 2022 Retrieved 13 October 2017 Bocci Michele 20 November 2017 Ema Milano passa al secondo turno di votazioni con Amsterdam e Copenhagen Ema Milan passes second in terms of votes with Amsterdam and Copenhangen la Repubblica in Italian Archived from the original on 9 November 2020 Retrieved 20 October 2017 Coronavirus disease COVID 19 European Medicines Agency 29 January 2020 Archived from the original on 22 September 2021 Retrieved 16 September 2023 ACTIV National Institutes of Health NIH Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 16 September 2023 Stubbs Jack 9 December 2020 Hackers steal Pfizer BioNTech COVID 19 vaccine data in Europe companies say Reuters Archived from the original on 16 September 2023 Retrieved 16 September 2023 Cyberattack on EMA update 5 European Medicines Agency 15 January 2021 Archived from the original on 16 September 2023 Retrieved 16 September 2023 Statement on EMA Cyberattack Pfizer 9 December 2020 Archived from the original on 16 September 2023 Retrieved 16 September 2023 Tinari Serena 10 March 2021 The EMA covid 19 data leak and what it tells us about mRNA instability BMJ 372 n627 doi 10 1136 bmj n627 ISSN 1756 1833 PMID 33692030 Archived from the original on 16 September 2023 Retrieved 16 September 2023 Abbasi Jennifer 13 April 2021 Data Leak Exposes Early COVID 19 Vaccine Manufacturing Hiccups JAMA 325 14 1385 doi 10 1001 jama 2021 5002 ISSN 0098 7484 PMID 33847730 Lovett Samuel 11 March 2021 European regulator raised concern over quality of early Pfizer vaccine batches leaked emails show The Independent Archived from the original on 16 September 2023 Retrieved 16 September 2023 Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use CHMP 19 February 2021 European public assessment report EPAR Comirnaty INN COVID 19 mRNA Vaccine nucleoside modified PDF European Medicines Agency Archived PDF from the original on 12 September 2023 Retrieved 16 September 2023 Kansteiner Fraser 15 March 2021 Pfizer s COVID 19 vaccine faced EMA manufacturing concerns ahead of emergency nod report Fierce Pharma Archived from the original on 10 July 2023 Retrieved 16 September 2023 Gu A Patel D Nayak R 2016 Chapter 10 Drug shortages In Fulda TR Lyles A Wertheimer eds Pharmaceutical Public Policy CRC Press pp 151 160 ISBN 9781498748513 Boslaugh SE 2015 European Medicines Agency The SAGE Encyclopedia of Pharmacology and Society SAGE Publications ISBN 9781506346182 Sherwood Ted 16 April 2008 Generic Drugs Overview of ANDA Review Process PDF Food and Drug Administration Archived from the original PDF on 19 January 2017 Retrieved 30 January 2010 Further reading editMcCormick John 2004 The European Union Politics and Policies Boulder Colo Westview Press ISBN 0 8133 4202 3 External links editOfficial website EMA Annual Report 2018 Heads of Medicines Agencies The Rules Governing Medicinal Products in the European Union EudraLex Health EU Portal official public health portal of the European Union Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title European Medicines Agency amp oldid 1221343014 Pharmacovigilance risk assessment, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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