European Medicines Agency and European Chemicals Agency enhance cooperation

14 May 2014

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) Executive Director Guido Rasi and European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Executive Director Geert Dancet have today signed a memorandum of understanding that aims to strengthen the scientific dialogue between ECHA and EMA through sharing expertise, know-how and scientific data between their scientific committees, working groups and panels on matters of common interest.

The Memorandum of understanding on working arrangements between the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) sets out a number of activities that aim to ensure that they make best use of the available resources and ensure coherence in scientific opinions. It includes:

• the exchange of information regarding evaluation and authorisation/restriction of chemicals, as relevant for the activities of EMA;
• the exchange of information concerning risk management through classification, labelling and packaging of substances;
• cooperation in the area of toxicological assessments by predictive methods and new methodologies;
• cooperation in the area of biocides, in particular the establishment of maximum residue limits for pharmacologically active substances contained in biocidal products used in animal husbandry;
• the exchange information and cooperate regarding environmental risk assessment for both human and veterinary medicinal products and ecotoxicology;
• participation to meetings and joint projects.

The ECHA is an EU agency based in Helsinki, Finland, that seeks to help companies comply with chemicals legislation, advance the safe use of chemicals, address chemicals of concern and provide information on chemicals, all for the protection of human health and the environment.

The EMA already has similar working arrangements in place with the European Food Safety Authority, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.