EMA scales back activities ahead of Brexit
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced plans to temporarily further scale back and suspend activities in order to cope with a more significant staff loss from the agency’s relocation than was originally expected.
Yesterday, August 1, the agency revealed the third phase of its business continuity plan aimed at securing essential public and animal health activities.
The EMA has already scaled back some activities in the first two phases of its business continuity plan.
Launched on October 1 at the latest, the new plan will intensify the EMA’s preparation for the move from London to Amsterdam in March 2019 and cope with significant staff loss.
LSIPR reported in November last year that the EMA would relocate from its current headquarters, in a move sparked by the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
“Staff who will not relocate to Amsterdam have already started to leave the agency and this trend is expected to accelerate,” said the EMA, adding that due to the employment rules in the Netherlands, 135 short-term contract staff will no longer be able to work for the EMA.
Overall, the EMA expects a staff loss of about 30%, with a “high degree of uncertainty” regarding mid-term staff retention.
While the agency has put supporting measures in place to help facilitate the relocation, in the short to medium term it will have to reprioritise its resources to maintain its core activities related to the evaluation and supervision of medicines.
Collaboration at an international level will be temporarily scaled back to focus primarily on product-related requests, supply-chain integrity and procedures.
In areas such as the harmonisation of global medicine regulation, the EMA will only take a reactive role and, while the agency’s engagement in global public health issues such as antimicrobial resistance or vaccines will be maintained for as long as possible, it will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
The development and revision of guidelines will be limited to those that address an urgent public or animal health need or are necessary to support preparations for Brexit.
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