Back 30th anniversary of the OMCL Network – Celebrating the success of international collaboration for safe medicines at the 29th GEON meeting

EDQM Strasbourg, France 04/06/2024
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30th anniversary of the OMCL Network – Celebrating the success of international collaboration for safe medicines at the 29th GEON meeting

The 29th Annual Meeting of the General European Official Medicines Control Laboratories Network (GEON) was held from 13 to 17 May 2024 in Ohrid (North Macedonia). Over 230 participants representing 63 official medicines control laboratories (OMCLs) from 38 countries attended this meeting, which was hosted by the Center for Drug Quality Control, with the support of the North Macedonian Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (MALMED), and co-organised with the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM). Nine in-person sessions were held over the course of the week, with the General Session conducted in hybrid format to allow wider participation. An air of celebration surrounded this year’s event, which marked not only the 30th anniversary of the GEON, but also the 75th and 60th anniversaries of the Council of Europe and the EDQM, respectively.

The central aim of the GEON, which operates independently of manufacturers and thus with no conflict of interest, is to prevent substandard medicinal products from reaching patients and potentially endangering their health or compromising their treatment. Its activities are co-funded by the European Commission and the Council of Europe. For three decades, the GEON has played a fundamental role in ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of medicinal products for human and veterinary use across Europe and beyond. From facilitating swift communication and knowledge sharing to harmonising standards and testing methodologies and pooling resources, the GEON has been instrumental in safeguarding public health and promoting trust in medicinal products. The EDQM plays a pivotal role in supporting and co-ordinating the GEON, serving as a platform for technical guidance, capacity-building and quality assurance.

The network currently comprises 67 laboratories from 41 countries. The impressive list of their collective successes in the protection of public health underlines the importance of working together to achieve better outcomes in all areas of public health.

For more information, read the press release: “30th anniversary of the OMCL Network – Celebrating the success of international collaboration for safe medicines at the 29th GEON meeting”.