LONDON, Nov 17 (APM) - Guido Rasi has lost his job as head of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) after a tribunal found the agency did not follow standard procedure when selecting him as its executive director.
In a late Friday statement, the EMA said it regretted that Rasi would have to step down as executive director, something which it underlined was not linked to his competency.
In an additional note, the EMA said the case was brought to the European Union Civil Service Tribunal by an individual in January 2012 who claimed the EMA did not follow appointment procedure when Rasi, formerly head of the Italian Medicines Agency, was selected for the job.
The individual, who was not been named by the EMA, appealed against the decision by the European Commission not to include him on the shortlist of candidates for the top job. Media reports name the individual as Emil Hristov, a former employee of Bulgarian's drug regulator.
According to the agency’s founding regulation (Regulation (EC) 726/2004), the management board can only select from the candidates shortlisted by the European Commission.
On Friday, the court judged that appointment procedure had not been properly followed, and it annulled the commission’s decision to previously adopt a shortlist of potential candidates for the position.
“As a consequence, the decision by the management board to select Guido Rasi from the shortlist and appoint him as executive director on 6 October 2011 has also been annulled,” the agency statement said.
Professor Kent Woods, EMA chair is quoted in the statement: “I note with regret today’s judgement by the European Union Civil Service Tribunal. It is important to remember that the ruling is about a procedural formality. It is not a reflection on Guido Rasi’s competence or ability to run the agency, something which he has done successfully since November 2011.”
The European Commission and EMA are taking legal advice, according to the statement.
Pending further decisions, Andreas Pott, the deputy executive director, will take responsibility with immediate effect for the management and operations, the EMA said.
The news comes at a time when Europe’s highest authority on drugs’ regulation faces major challenges and a raft of sweeping changes, including ensuring the implementation of the new clinical trials directive and adaptive licensing pathways.
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