Spain hires more staff at Drug Agency
This week 40 vacancies were posted to recruit more staff at the National Drug Agency (Agencia Española del Medicamentos). It comes as part of an initiative to bolster the evaluation and monitoring of drugs ahead of Britain’s exit from the European Union which may see the European regulator leaving London.
The European Union has already made it clear that it wishes the Euopean Medicines Agenmcy (EMA) to leave London after Brexit and to be based in mainland Europe. The EMA approves and monitors drug safety across Europe.
The Spanish Health Ministry plans to add the 40 staff to its existing 493 employees in Spain. The increase in staffing levels woulsd enable Barcelona to compete more strongly as one of the 19 European cities that have lodged official applications to host the EMA.
The news of Spain’s intention to boost staff nationally comes after the European Agency began its continuity plan for business earlier in August to cope with the workload and uncertainty linked to Britain’s exit from the EU.
The European Commission will examine the 19 cities by the end of September 2017 but the final call sits with the leaders of the EU who are expected to reach a consensus at their October summit. The winner is expected to be announced in November 2017.
The award of the EMA will be a huge asset to whichever country gains it, employing almost 1000 staff and with an annual budget of €300m. Currently the London office attracts 36000 experts per year for meetings.
