Message from EMA’s Outgoing Executive Director

Professor Guido Rasi’s last day as Executive Director of EMA comes in the middle of one of the biggest public health emergencies of the past century. “We are seeing an unprecedented effort…to tackle the pandemic. The number of therapeutics and vaccines that are currently under development is encouraging, and information on the initial results from clinical trials on vaccines is starting to be reported by the pharmaceutical industry. In the words of one developer, ‘we are a significant step closer’ to a vaccine.”

He emphasized the importance of the role that regulators would be playing in reviewing the available data packages. “EMA will ensure that the scientific review is conducted as rapidly as possible. This is a vitally important step as the time spent in conducting the review will not only ensure that our stringent regulatory standards are met but will also serve to reinforce public confidence in the vaccines.”