With just a week to go before EU Member States vote on the post Brexit location of the European Medicines Agency, EFPIA Director General Nathalie Moll underlines the importance that this decision is made on the basis of essential and objective criteria that place patient health at their core.

For over two decades, EU Member States have benefitted from and relied upon the critical work undertaken by the EMA in relation to the approval of new medicines, pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring activities. It is the expertise within the EMA and within its scientific committees that is critical to its successful operation.

The EFPIA Director General stresses the need to ensure minimal disruption to patients, healthcare systems and the availability of treatments. EFPIA believes that this may be achieved most effectively by addressing the six criteria laid down by industry earlier this year. Nathalie Moll said: “As we are now just a week from the vote, we are calling upon Member States to base their decision on supporting the continuity of the EMA’s critical functions, its ability to retain staff and access expert networks. With the numerous technical aspects that need to be managed to ensure continuity of care for patients in relation to Brexit, Europe must get the EMA’s relocation right.”