Catalonia offers to house European Medicines Agency

Brussels (CNA).- The European Medicines Agency may be located in Catalonia in the near future. The Catalan Government will offer to host the headquarters of this European body, which is currently in London and now looking for a new location as a consequence of ‘Brexit’. Catalonia’s “potential in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sector” will be one of the candidature’s strongest assets, according to sources interviewed by CNA. Indeed, back in the nineties, Catalonia already presented a “very solid portfolio” to house the European Medicines Agency but it was ultimately located in London’s Canary Wharf financial district. The European body is responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines developed by pharmaceutical companies for use in the EU and serves a market of over 500 million people living in the EU.

The nearly 1,000 workers of the European Medicines Agency, scientists and pharmacists, are aware that they will have to move out of London because of the ‘Brexit’. Besides Catalonia, other countries have also presented their candidacies and are all “racing” to house the body. Sweden was the first one to show interest and later Denmark and Italy also joined the competition.

EMA protects public and animal health in the 28 EU Member States, as well as the countries of the European Economic Area, by ensuring that all medicines available on the EU market are safe, effective and of high quality. 

Outstanding pharmaceutical companies

Grífols and Almirall are the Catalan companies which invest the most in R&D. Indeed, Grífols was the first company to receive funding through the European Investment Plan, the so-called ‘Juncker Plan’. A Grífols project agreement, signed in October last year, foresees research on plasma-related therapies, diagnoses and medical solutions for hospitals. The funding, €100 million, is set to cover all phases of the research, including the clinical and pre-clinical periods and these stages will be developed at the company’s headquarters in Barcelona.

The research is expected to improve treatment for Alzheimer’s and also that for cardiovascular operations. In total, the total investment foreseen is 240.9 million euros.