Guido Rasi Enjoys Surprise Reincarnation at EMA

In a remarkable turnaround, the management board of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has nominated Prof. Guido Rasi as the agency’s new executive director, less than 12 months after he had to leave the job.

On October 13, Rasi is expected to make a statement to the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment. The appointment of the new executive director is likely to be made after this session.

Rasi was forced to step down in November 2014 by the EU Civil Service Tribunal after a panel of experts found the European Commission (EC) had used improper procedures when it had selected him back in 2011.

Emil Hristov, who was formerly a member of the Bulgarian Drug Agency and EMA board, submitted the case against Rasi. It was found that the EC had improperly put together a short list of candidates for the position of EMA executive director, following the departure of former leader Thomas Lönngren in 2010.

Following Rasi’s nomination, the chair of the management board, Prof. Sir Kent Woods said the decision of the management board is the result of a robust recruitment process over the last months. “We look forward to Professor Rasi resuming his leadership of the Agency,” Woods pointed out.

Deputy Executive Director Andreas Pott will continue to lead EMA operations and to legally represent the agency until the new executive director has officially taken up his duties.

“I am honored to have been nominated as EMA’s Executive Director and am grateful for the opportunity to continue our efforts to make the Agency fit for the challenges ahead. I am enormously proud of the Agency and its network,” noted Rasi in a statement. “Looking to the future, we must continue to meet patients’ legitimate expectations for access to new and safe therapeutic options. This requires that the medicines authorization process not only supports the early stages of research and development, but also strives to make the best possible use of real world data throughout a medicine’s lifecycle.”
 

Read the full release.