A busy and eventful year comes to a close for the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), and it is time to look back, take stock of our successes and accomplishments and peek into the new year to see what challenges and opportunities await.
The 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Council of Europe Convention on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia – the founding moment for the EDQM – was a defining milestone of 2024. We organised an international conference on 11 and 12 June in Strasbourg, entitled “Today, Tomorrow, Together for Public Health”, to celebrate 60 years of excellence in public health protection. This was an unprecedented event which brought together prestigious speakers and renowned guests representing all the EDQM’s partners and stakeholders to discuss the public health challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. A watershed moment for our organisation, this conference succeeded in creating a real feeling of togetherness and confirming our shared commitment to protecting public health, enabling us to look confidently to the future.
It is no exaggeration to say that anniversaries defined the year: the Network of Official Medicines Control Laboratories (OMCLs) and the procedure for the Certification of suitability to the monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia (CEP) both celebrated their 30th birthdays. These are significant health-protection initiatives, representing a broad range of programmes that safeguard the quality of medicines throughout their lifecycle, from inspections of manufacturing sites of active pharmaceutical ingredients across the globe to market surveillance activities.
Far from dwelling on the past, the EDQM is looking confidently to the future after devising and publishing its Medium-Term Strategy for the period 2024-27.
The EDQM’s global outreach and impact continued to grow, with new co-operation agreements, partnerships and projects with important stakeholders around the world. The Brazilian health authority (ANVISA) decided to take the CEP procedure into account in its own assessments, promoting harmonisation and improving access to medicines. Closer to home, the OMCL Network welcomed Türkiye as a full member after many years of close co-operation. On a truly global scale, the Pharmacopoeial Discussion Group (PDG) held its annual meeting in Strasbourg, which included a stakeholder event where it launched the next phase of its global expansion initiative, inviting other world pharmacopoeias to join the existing panel of members in developing robust, science-based, harmonised pharmacopoeial standards.
Significant achievements were made in animal welfare in the context of safety testing for medicines and their components with the decision by the European Pharmacopoeia Commission at its November session to remove all general animal safety tests along with the rabbit pyrogen test from the European Pharmacopoeia.
Another significant milestone in 2024 was the adoption of the EU regulation on substances of human origin (SoHO). The aim of these new rules is to improve the safety and quality of blood, tissues and cells used in healthcare and to facilitate cross-border circulation of these substances in the EU. The adoption of the regulation confirms the EDQM’s role as a major player in developing technical guidelines in this field. In addition, co-operation initiatives are being expanded and intensified to broaden the scope of SoHO activities and collaboration.
The innovative spirit of 2024 was carried over into the EDQM’s communications, with the first online annual report and the launch of our podcast EDQM On Air, where listeners can discover how the EDQM is safeguarding public health through expert insight, engaging discussions and inspiring stories.
As 2024 draws to an end, we would like to thank our stakeholders and partners for their valued collaboration and support. We look forward to continuing working together for better health, for all.