European Medicines New HQ

Europe's drugmakers pushed for a decision as early as June on the new location for the headquarters of the bloc's medicines watchdog.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is due to relocate from London after Britain's decision to leave the EU.
The EMA, employing nearly 900 staff, acts as a one-stop-shop for approving new treatments and monitoring the safety of drugs and veterinary products across the region.
The new location will be decided by the EU's heads of state, whose next meeting as the European Council is scheduled for June 22-23.
"The Council's deliberations on the agency's future location need to be conducted on the basis of very essential criteria and put for decision as early on as possible, preferably at its meeting in June this year," European pharma lobby group, EFPIA said in a statement.
The statement was signed by 19 top executives at member companies including Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi and Roche.

The European Medicines Agency is due to relocate from

London, after Britain's decision to leave the EU

The industry warned that getting it wrong could impact the region's high level of public health.
"Were a rapid resolution on the future location of the EMA not to materialise, or if the future seat of the European Medicines Agency were to fail in terms of establishing its minimum prerequisites, the quality of its work and the future of the European Medicines Regulatory Network would be placed in jeopardy," the statement said.
EMA's executive director Guido Rasi earlier this month also called for a decision in June and for a carefully planned relocation so as not to disrupt the body's work.
The EMA, the largest EU body in Britain, has been based in London since its birth in 1995 and it moved into new premises in Canary Wharf on a 25-year lease less than three years ago.
No fewer than 21 EU member states have expressed their interest in hosting the EMA, including Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France and Poland.
The new location would have to offer sufficient transport infrastructure and accommodation for EMA staff and its tens of thousands of annual visitors and quality housing, schools and employment opportunities for spouses and family to retain its staff.

European Medicines Agency

The Netherlands has made a formal bid to become the new home of the European Medicines Agency which will likely have to relocate from London after Britain leaves the European Union.
"It is my pleasure to inform you of the Netherlands' candidacy to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a letter to EU president Donald Tusk.
Ireland has also expressed an interest in hosting the EMA in Dublin, while several other European cities are thought to be in the running to provide a new home for the EMA, including Barcelona and Copenhagen.

The agency and its 900 staff of pharmacists, biologists and doctors are tasked with researching and evaluating all new medicines, to see if they are ready to be rolled out across the European bloc

Amsterdam has "outstanding international travel connections and excellent working and living conditions," Mr Rutte said, adding it "meets all the requirements of the agency and its staff".
EU agencies like the EMA are meant to be located within the bloc, causing uncertainty for the agency currently based in London's Canary Wharf business district.
"The Netherlands will do everything in its power to facilitate a smooth and efficient transition from the UK to our country, in order to ensure full operational continuity both for the agency and the large number of scientific experts involved," Mr Rutte vowed.
He said "uncertainty about the move" was already affecting the agency's work and staff and he urged the European Council to "decide on the EMA's new location as swiftly as possible".

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said yesterday the "real political" negotiations on Brexit will start after Britain's snap June 8 elections.
He told reporters that both the EMA and the European Banking Authority "must be based in the territory of the European Union" once Brexit is complete.
The British government will have "no say" on the issue because it is not part of the Brexit negotiations, but "will have to ease the burden of relocating" staff to EU cities, he added.
Mr Rutte also took to Twitter to press his country's case saying on his official account: "I firmly believe that NL is best equipped to provide all conditions necessary to enable the EMA to perform its work as effectively as possible."
Since its creation in 1995, the agency has approved 1,100 medicines, including 82 last year.
Of those which gained approval in 2016, 17 were for treating cancer, 14 for infections, and nine for heart disease.