Richard Bergström Quits EFPIA

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has announced that its director general, Richard Bergström, is leaving the post.

“I am proud to leave EFPIA at a time when we have developed policies that promote innovation and patient access, such as through the focus on outcomes and on adaptive pathways to speed up the development of new medicines. After 15 fantastic years leading industry associations in Sweden and in Brussels, it is time for me to take on a fresh challenge,” he said.

Bergström succeeded Brian Ager as director general on April 1, 2011. He was previously director general of LIF, the Swedish research-based pharmaceutical industry association. He is a pharmacist by trade who worked for almost 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, before moving to LIF in 2002.

Previously Bergström was chair of EFPIA’s Trust Committee and Task Force on Health Technology Assessment and a council member of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA). He served on several Swedish government commissions and was vice chairman of the board of the Karolinska Institutet.