The head of the European Medicines Agency, Emer Cooke, has welcomed the European Commission’s plans to simplify the agency’s committee structures, saying the move will allow it to make better use of its resources and give it more flexibility in consulting experts on specific diseases or types of product.
EMA Chief Backs Restructuring Plan & ‘Regulatory Sandbox’ Proposal
Emer Cooke told a European Parliament committee that she hoped the European Medicines Agency would be given sufficient resources to carry out its new tasks under the revision of the EU pharmaceutical legislation.

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In a historic move for Africa, five products have been backed for approval via a pilot that tested a continental listing process.
Pharmaceutical companies are being encouraged to reach out to NICE in relation to its HTA Innovation Lab, which provides a sandbox environment in which the health technology assessment body can test new methods of evaluating “innovative and disruptive” therapies.
The weight management drug, Mysimba, continues to demonstrate a positive benefit-risk balance but the data available are not sufficient to fully determine the cardiovascular safety beyond 12 months. Meanwhile, Currax this month announced the publication of a peer-reviewed study of Mysimba that followed patients for over 4.7 years and found no evidence of excess cardiovascular risk.
Health technology assessment body NICE said it has taken on feedback about the implications of allowing higher cost-effectiveness thresholds for some medicines after senior health economists offered diverging views on its methods.
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One CDRH employee said the cuts already are having a major effect on morale.
Mass FDA layoffs on 1 April were designed to spare product reviewers, but still touched many who are critical to the application review process or drug development, which could mean fewer treatments are brought to the US market first.
Pharmaceutical companies are being encouraged to reach out to NICE in relation to its HTA Innovation Lab, which provides a sandbox environment in which the health technology assessment body can test new methods of evaluating “innovative and disruptive” therapies.