The Minister of Health wants to strengthen Lille’s candidacy to host the headquarters of the European Medicines Agency, relocated in the wake of Brexit.
A little boost to Lille’s candidacy. The Minister of Solidarity and Health, Agnès Buzyn, on Thursday launched a “task force” to defend Lille’s application to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which must leave London in the wake of Brexit. Chaired by Prof. Jean-Luc Harousseau, this group will be responsible for coordinating the actions of the various stakeholders and stakeholders, “consolidating the file” and “promoting the candidacy at the level of European States”.
“We think that Lille is an excellent candidate: it is the closest European city to London where the quality of scientists is recognized and where there is a competitiveness cluster in health”, declared the Minister on the sidelines of a press conference at Lille town hall.
Scientific expertise
Agnès Buzyn thus highlighted the city’s “scientific expertise”, as well as its proximity to London, which “will allow agents not to feel expatriated too far from their base”, she pleaded.
But the capital of Flanders will have to face other competitors: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Barcelona are also in line to host the EMA, which currently has 900 employees. “Almost all European countries have wished to present an application,” said the minister. All applications must be submitted before July 31 and will be studied by the European Commission by September 30. Several criteria will be taken into account – accessibility of the site, employment prospects for the spouses of employees, study prospects for their children… The final choice will be up to the Member States, during a vote to be taken on 20 October.
The main mission of the European Medicines Agency is to assess health products (drugs, medical devices) and to issue their marketing authorization in Europe. The EMA also monitors the availability of medicines in the EU and their safety. In France, its equivalent is the ANSM (National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products).
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