EU pharmaceutical industry operators seek closer cooperation

The Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea) hosted its first meeting during the Finnish Presidency in Helsinki 18 - 19 July 2019. The meeting was attended by four working groups and more than 100 participants.

Several speeches given at the meeting focused on the importance of closer cooperation at EU level between various regulatory organisations especially those associated with giving scientific advice to innovators. Scientific advice developers of medicines to avoid mistakes and needless delays, said Eija Pelkonen, Director General, Fimea, in her opening speech.

First INNO joint meeting

The INNO joint meeting brought together the Scientific Advice Working Party (SAWP) of the European Medicines Agency, the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA), the Clinical Trials Facilitation and Coordination Group (CTFG), and the EU Innovation Network. It was the first time that these working groups had assembled together.

‘The meeting went very well, indeed,’ says Dr. Esa Heinonen, Director of Assessment of Medicinal Products from the Finnish Medicines Agency, Fimea, who acted as main organizer of the meeting. ‘We wanted to promote a more diverse dialogue on scientific and regulatory challenges related to scientific advice, clinical trials, marketing authorisations and health technology assessment. . In addition, many EU level development projects were reviewed.  It is important that we communicate more and share knowledge and that got off to a good start. We learnt a lot about one another, and this is something that needs to continue.’ ‘The INNO general meeting is an event that many of the participants think should be held annually,’ he adds.

 

Further information on the working groups:

SAWP (EMA website)

EUnetHTA

CTFG (HMA website)

EU-IN (HMA website)