EMA management board chair stands down
pharmafile | December 21, 2015 | Appointment | Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing | EMA, European Medicines Agency, Sir Kent Woods
Sir Kent Woods will step down as chair of the board at the EMA from the end of December 2015.
Management board vice-chair, Christa Wirthumer-Hoche, who is also head of the Austrian Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (AGES), will take the role until the election of a new chair takes place at the next meeting of the EMA board on 17 March 2016.
In his announcement to the board, Sir Kent, who has served as chair of the board since 2011, says: “It has been a privilege to serve as chairman of EMA’s management board. Together, EMA and the regulatory authorities in Member States have achieved a lot in recent years and the development of a shared strategic plan for the coming five years is a major landmark.” He adds: “I am confident that under Guido Rasi’s leadership the Agency today is in a strong position to move forward to serve patients and protect public and animal health in Europe.”
Sir Kent, who led the UK’s Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as chief executive from 2004-2013, was recently appointed as senior medical trustee and chairman of the advisory council of the cardiology charity the British Heart Foundation.
EMA’s executive director, Guido Rasi, says: “I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Sir Kent for more than four years of exceptional stewardship of the management board. He has expertly guided the board through a key and sometimes challenging time for the Agency. We wish Sir Kent all the very best in his new position.”
Related Content
European Medicines Agency recommended 104 medicines for approval in 2025
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced data from 2025 showing that over the course …
Rethinking oncology trial endpoints with generalised pairwise comparisons
For decades, oncology trials have been anchored to a familiar set of endpoints. Overall survival …
Sanofi’s treatment granted orphan designation for rare chronic inflammatory condition
The European Medicines Agency has granted orphan designation to Sanofi’s investigational Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) …
