European Medicines Agency to continue to involve patients in scientific discussions on human medicines
The European Medicines Agency's pilot of involving patient representatives in scientific advisory group (SAG) meetings has been successful, according to the outcome report published today.
The report states that the one-year pilot phase enabled patient representatives to become integrated in confidential discussions at the Agency and contribute their views. It concludes that the inclusion of the patient viewpoint adds robustness to the output of the meetings and enriches the overall evaluation of the benefits and risks of medicines.
The patient representatives attending the meetings found them informative and interesting, and valued the opportunity to participate and be listened to.
Following the success of the pilot, the Agency intends to continue to invite one or two patient representatives to SAG meetings where their input is likely to be suitable and beneficial. It will also provide more training and support to patient representatives attending the meetings.
SAGs are groups of European experts brought together by the Agency's committees to provide advice in connection with the evaluation of specific types of medicines or treatments. During the pilot phase, which ran from October 2010 to October 2011, 22 patient representatives took part in a total of 18 SAG meetings on human medicines.
The completion of this pilot is the latest stage in the Agency's ongoing efforts to increase the integration of patient representatives in its work.
EMA
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