Dive Brief:
- Guido Rasi was appointed executive director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in October 2011. But he was forced to step down last November due to a procedural error. Now, the EMA's board is renominating him to the position.
- Rasi, who is from Italy, will step into the position on October 13.
- Prior to finalizing his reappointment, Rasi will have to appear before the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.
Dive Insight:
Guido Rasi actually held the position of executive director of the EMA between October 6, 2011 and the beginning of November 2014. However, Emil Hrisov, who also applied for the job, appealed to the EU Civil Service Tribunal in 2012, claiming conflict of interest because there were two members on the short list of candidates, including Rasi. In response to Hristov's complaint, the tribunal responded by annulling the entire list of candidates, which included not only Rasi, but also Hristov, a former director of the Bulgarian Drug Agency.
Here's how the EMA works: Unlike the FDA, the EMA is decentralized. There is a board comprised of 27 individuals—one from each member state—that oversees budgeting and other operational issues for the agency. Scientific assessment is conducted through a network of roughly 4,500 experts throughout the EU, and the EMA is a scientific rather than a regulatory agency.
The overall general consensus about Rasi is that he did a good job during his previous tensure as executive director, and that he will be a good leader again.