On 9 January 2019, Dutch authorities have officially handed over the temporary building, the Spark building in Amsterdam Sloterdijk, to European Medicines Agency’s Executive Director, Guido Rasi.
The European Union agency for the evaluation of medicinal products can now physically be relocated from London to Amsterdam in early March 2019, as a consequence of Brexit.
In order to ensure that the Agency continues its main activities during its relocation, it will implement the activities contained in the phase 4 of its business continuity plan (BCP). The Agency’s activities will mainly focus on the authorisation, maintenance and supervision of medicines, ongoing Brexit preparedness/implementation activities, and preparing for the implementation of new veterinary legislation. These priorities have been set in the light of the anticipated staff loss of 25% of the EMA’s total workforce and ensure the continued delivery of services.
Next steps
Analysis
This is an important step in the EMA’s temporary relocation as the European agency is expected be re-transferred to a new building by November 2019. Ensuring a smooth EMA relocation is of critical importance for pharmaceutical companies as the relocation may impact the Agency’s ability to timely assess medicines for safety, efficacy and quality in order to deliver a marketing authorisation for the European market.
